(Vashington 



'b\'^ 



NT-5b_ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



1p7^ 



Slielf...J.7..3f 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/visitorsguidetom06john 



r 



■^ 



Visitors' Guide 



TO 




; A visit to the National Capital is hut half -made unless it includes the 
home and tovib of Washington. — Everett. 



^. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 
PRICE, 25 CTS. 



,^ 



WOODWARD & LOTHROP, 
Dry Goods, 



HOTIOHS, 4o. 



Cor. F und Eleventh Sts. N. W. 
WASHINGTON, D, C. 



1218 & 1220 F Street N.W. 




WALL PAPER, 

111 11I®1 lli®14f I®SS, 

BMIC-A-BBAC and WEDDING PRESENTS 

A. Sf ECIA-Ij'rv. 



VISITORS' GUIDE 



MOUNT YEKl^TON 



ELIZABETH B. JOHNSTON. 

y 



Washington was the greatest of good men and the best of great 
men. — Edward Everett. 



Fifteenth Edition. ^"^^iGht SP^ 

OCT 8 1889;; 



GIBSON BROTHERS, PRINTERS, 
Washington, D. C. 



.5- 



13^ 



An extensive traveller and witty friend of the writer 
sweepingly declares that " Guide-books contain everything 
which one does not wish to know." 

With the hope that the brevity of the following pages will 
save this little Guide from even the suspicion of conveying 
undesirable information, the possessor is respectfully invited 
to peruse it first, and render judgment afterwards. 

It is designed simply as a practical assistant to the visitor 
to Mount Vernon, all merely patriotic or poetic sentimentality 
being purposely avoided. E. B. J. 



Copyrighted, 1889, by Elizabeth B. Johnston. 



MOUNT VERNON. 

The home of Washington is situated on the right bank 
of the Potomac, sixteen miles south of the Capital, 
and may be approached by land or water. Formerly, 
in cool autumn weather, it was a pleasant drive thither 
from Washington, across the famous Long Bridge, via 
the interesting old city of Alexandria, which, in the 
solemn silence of its deserted streets and warehouses, 
and with its many dilapidated, moss-covered buildings, 
reminds the traveller of cities in foreign lands. 

From Alexandria, (about midway,) the road runs 
partly over what once constituted the Washington 
Estate, a princely domain of 8,000 acres. However, 
very few persons take this route, for daily, (Sundays 
excepted,) 

THE W. W. CORCORAN, 

a commodious steamboat, built expressly for the Ladies' 
Mount Vernon Association of the Union, leaves Seventh- 
street wharf at 10 a. m. for Mount Vernon, and return- 
ing reaches the wharf at 3.45 P. M., which enables 
visitors to pass several hours among the historic asso- 
ciations of the resting-place of Washington ; and, if 
desirable, to make connection with the evening trains 
leaving the Capital 

The W. W. Corcoran is commanded by Capt. L 
L. Blake, a most agreeable, efficient, and considerate 
officer — a gentleman who neglects nothing needful for 



the comfort or that may add to the pleasure of the 
passengers. The steamer is well adapted for the pur- 
pose, being fast,- safe, and comfortable, and handsomely 
and tastefully furnished. The pilot-house is sur- 
mounted by a bust of Washington, carved in wood, 
after the portrait of Robert Edge Pine, and on each 
wheel-house is the river-front view of Mount Vernon, 
also in wood carving. The arrival at Mount Vernon 
is announced by the tolling bell. 

At the Mount Vernon Landing guests are courteously 
received by Supt. Harrison H. Dodge, who gives intel- 
ligent and patient attention to every question. 

The number of persons who take this trip during the 
year is very great, coming from every State of the Re- 
public, and from all civilized portions of the world. 
Even the Indian delegations are unwilling to leave the 
Capital without visiting Mount Vernon. It is an im- 
pressive scene to witness them pass before the door of 
the tomb, push their tawny hands between the iron 
bars, and pronounce in solemn dignity their character- 
istic salutation, " How ! " 

Leaving the Capital, the first object upon the left 
bank of the Potomac is the 

UNITED STATES ARSENAL, 
the grounds of which are beautiful and well kept. 
After its establishment in the early part of the century 
it served several purposes ; at one time being a military 
station, and afterwards a sort of supply depot. It was 
destroyed by the British in 1814, a number of whom 



were killed by the explosion of a quantity of powder 
secreted in a well near the quarters. After it was re- 
built it was for some time under the command of M. 
Villard, a French officer who came to the United States 
with Gen. Lafayette. In 1864 an explosion of car- 
tridges and signal-rockets in the workshop instantly 
killed twenty-one young girls, to whose memory a 
handsome monument was erected in the Congressional 
Cemetery by the citizens of Washington. A sadder 
tragedy even than this casts its shadow here — the cul- 
minating horror of the assassination of President 
Lincoln. 

Just across the Eastern Branch, which flows into 
the Potomac below the Arsenal, is the 

GOVERNMENT INSANE ASYLUM; 

and on the Virginia shore, not far distant, the Episcopal 
Seminary of Virginia forms a prominent feature of 
the landscape. This is often mistaken for "Fairfax 
Court-House," which, though near, is not visible from 
the river. 

Below the junction, on the Maryland side, is Gies- 
boro Point, which during the late war was used by the 
Government as a corral for horses. A little beyond 
are the Naval Powder Magazines, which were removed 
from the vicinity of the city in consequence of the 
danger to the Capitol in the event of an explosion. 
Below Giesboro Point is the river terminus of the 
extension of the Baltimore and Ohio R.R. 

The first landing is at the town of 



8 

ALEXANDRIA, 
one of the oldest and most important ports of the Col- 
onies. It was first known as " Hunting Creek Ware- 
house ;" afterwards as " Belhaven." In 1749 it was 
organized and governed by a board of trustees in pur- 
suance of an act of the General Assembly of the Colony 
of Virginia, and fourteen years later we find George 
Washington a member of this board. 

In 1762 it was enlarged by the addition of lots from 
the farms belonging to the Wests, Dades, and Alex- 
anders, and in 1779 incorporated as a town and 
named Alexandria in compliment to the largest land- 
holders. In 1801 it was ceded to the General Govern- 
ment as a portion of the District of Columbia. In 
1814 it was captured by the British, and in 1846 it was 
retroceded to the State of Virginia. 

Alexandria was chiefly settled by the English of the 
higher classes, who, like other colonists, indicated 
their affection for the mother country in the names of 
its streets, such as King, Prince, Princess, Duke, and 
Royal. Here, Washington had his chief social, re- 
ligious and Masonic relations, and in his will he ce- 
mented these ties by endowing a free school " for the 
purpose of educatiog orphan children, or the children 
of such poor and indigent persons as are unable to ac- 
complish it with their own means." Wasliington cast 
here his first vote in 1754, and his last in 1799. 

One can scarcely realize that this town ever rivalled 
Baltimore in commerce, but Bishop Meade says "so 
promising was it at the close of the war that its claims 



10 

were weighed in the balance with those of Washington 
as the seat of the National Government. It is thought 
but for the unwillingness of Washington to seem par- 
tial to Virginia, Alexandria would have been the chosen 
spot, and that on the first range of hills overlooking the 
town the public buildings would have been erected." 
The only official mourners at Washington's funeral were 
from this town, consisting of Lodge No. 23, of which 
he was a member, the regiment he had commanded, 
and the Corporation of Alexandria. 

From the Potomac can be seen the old-style spire of 

CHRIST CHURCH, 
of which Washington was vestryman. This Church was 
builtjin 1 783,of bricks brought from England. Washing- 
ton's large square pew is an object of interest to visitors, 
but the silver plate bearing his name was years since 
stolen. Recently two memorials in white marble have 
been placed on either side of the chancel — one to George 
Washington and the other to Robert E. Lee, who was 
also a vestryman. On one of the principal streets leading 
from the river is a large hotel ; part of the r^ar of this 
building, a low section, with three dormer windows, is 
the old "Carey House," which was occupied as the 

HEADQUARTERS OP OEN. BRADDOCK. 
Here, in 1755, George Washington was appointed his 
aide de-camp. The room in which was held the Coun- 
cil of the Governors of Pennsylvania, New York, Mas- 
sachusetts, Maryland and Virginia remains unchanged. 
At this time Major Washington made his last appeal to 



11 

Braddock before the Council, to forego civilized metb 
ods of warfare with the Indians, previous to the pro- 
jected march on Fort DuQuesne, and the disastrous 
engagement of Monongahela. In this neighborhood 
is the Marshall House, rebuilt upon the site of the hotel 
in which Col. Ellsworth was shot in 1861. 

A short distance from Alexandria, at the mouth of 
Hunting Creek, is Jones' Point, where a Government 
light-house was built in 1855. 

FORT FOOTE, 

on the Maryland side, is the second landing. It is sit- 
uated on a high bluff one hundred feet above the water, 
six miles below Washington. This work, which is an 
enclosed barbette, was constructed during the civil war 
for the defence of Alexandria, and was dismantled 
October 18, 1878. 

FORT WASHINGTON 

is the last landing made before reaching Mount Vernon 
and is four miles distant therefrom. 

Fort Washington was first called Warburton, and 
its availability as a point of fortification was suggested 
to General Washington as he viewed the elevated spot 
from the eastern piazza of his home, about the year 
1790. It was blown up and abandoned in 1814 by our 
own forces, when the British troops passed up the 
river and captured Alexandria. From a bend in the 
river opposite Fort Washington are seen the National 
Washington Monument and the dome of the Capitol. 



12 

It was here that an Indian was so impressed by the 
beauty of that wonder of architecture that he exclaimed : 
" White man did not build it ; Great Spirit made it !" 

From the same point we obtain our first glimpse of 

MOUNT VERNON. . 
Here the river is two miles wide, and the Mansion- 
House has a stately a]3pearance situated about two 
hundred feet above the water. The tolling: of the bell 
and the hoisting of the flag announce to the passengers 
that they are approaching the Home of Washington. 
Immediately under the bluff upon which the Mansion 
stands is the reservation of a few acres, which was for- 
merly used as a deer-park. In 1887 this park was re- 
stored and stocked with fine deer, at an expense of 
$3,300, by the Messrs. Campbell, of St. Louis, in mem- 
ory of their mother, Mrs. Robert Campbell, formerly 
Vice-Regent for Missouri. On the river front of the 
deer-park is a landing of historic interest. ' The com- 
mander of a British vessel during the Revolution sent 
a boat's crew ashore and demanded provisions, threat- 
ening in event of refusal to burn the Mansion. The 
frightened overseer complied with the demand, thus 
preventing the destruction of the house ; but Washing- 
ton wrote him a letter of reproof, which is still on rec- 
ord, ordering, incase of another attack, "to let everj'^- 
thing be burned rather than give aid or comfort to the 
enemy." The main part of the wharf was constructed 
by Washington, but it has been extended in conse- 
quence of the increasing shallowness of the river. 



13 

From this wharf he used to load his barges with flour 
ground at his own mill, the famous brand, '' George 
Washington, Mount Vernon," being so favorably known 
at the custom-houses as to pass without inspection. 
Visitors are met at the landing by the courteous 
Superintendent, and proceed up a gentle acclivity to 

THE TOMB 
of him "who was first in war, first in peace, and first 
in the hearts of his countrymen.'" 

To the left of the road is a high, well- wooded hill- 
side, abounding with sweet-briar, trailing arbutus, and 
other flowers. On the right is an open park, extend- 
ing beyond the house. About half way up, in a small 
ravine, are several weeping willows, brought from the 
grave of Napoleon at St. Helena. These vividly recall 
the immortal epigrammatic announcement of the death 
of Washington, made by General Bonaparte to his army 
in Egypt, beginning with — 

" WASHINGTON, THE FKIEND OF LIBERTY, IS DEAD ! " 

The Tomb is a plain brick structure, familiar, through 
multiplied prints, to every school-boy in the land. It 
was built by Washington's executors, and in pursuance 
of a clause in his will designating the location, and 
saying, " it shall be built of brick." The front of the 
Tomb is unpretending, with wide, arching gateway and 
double iron gates, above which, upon a plain marble 
slab, is this inscription : 

" WITHIN THIS ENCLOSURE REST THE REMAINS OF 
GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON." 



14 

The ante-room to the vault is about twelve feet 
square, and here are seen the sarcophagi. The one on 
the right contains the remains of General Washington, 
and that on the left the remains of Martha his wife. 
In the vault at the rear repose about thirty relatives, 
members of the Washington, Blackburn, Corbin, Bush- 
rod, Lewis, and Custis families. 

To this vault the body of Washington was removed, 
April 19th, 1831, in consequence of a feeling of inse- 
curity, a man having broken into the old tomb and 
stolen a skull which he claimed to be that of Wash- 
ington, but which proved to be of one of the Black- 
burn family. 

In the winter of 1832, Congress, for the second time, 
made an effort to effect the removal of Washington's 
body to the chamber under the crypt of the Capitol, 
originally designed for its sepulchre. 

Adams, Clay, Webster, Thomas, and even Washing- 
ton's venerable biographer, Chief-Justice Marshall, 
earnestly endeavored to secure its removal, the cen- 
tennial anniversary of Washington's birth being se- 
lected for the solemn occasion. The family, however, 
was firm in refusal, through respect for the well-known 
wish of the illustrious dead. 

The body was placed in the sarcophagus, where it 
now rests, on the 7th of October, 1837. The door of 
the inner vault was then closed, and the key thrown 
into the Potomac. 

The sarcophagi which contain the remains of Gen. 
Washington and his wife were presented by John 



15 

Struthers, of Philadelphia, and were wrought by his 
own hand from solid blocks of Pennsylvania marble. 

Over the door of the tomb, on a plain tablet, is the 
inscription : 

'*I AM THE Resurrection and the Life. He that 

BELIEVETH IN Me, THOUGH HE WERE DEAD, 
YET SHALL HE LIVE." 

The sarcophagus of Mrs. Washmgton is perfectly 
plain, with the simple words : 

Martha, 

Consort of Washington, 

Died May 21st, 1801 ; Aged 71 years. 

The sarcophagus of Washington is also plain, being 
ornamented only with the United States coat-of-arms, 
upon a draped flag, under which is the single word, 

Washington. 

One of the talons of the eagle, in the coat-of-arms, 
was broken off during the civil war by some eager 
relic-hunter, which incident suggested the outer and 
higher gate. This was the only outrage committed at 
Mount Vernon, though the unarmed pickets of both 
armies often met before the tomb — here, and here only, 
met as brothers. At the servants' request they left 
their arms at whatever point they entered the sacred 
domain, which was frequently three-quarters of a mile 
away, at the old Porter's Lodge. 



17 

Near the entrance of the vault are four plain white 
marble monuments, two in front and two on the north 
side. They bear the following inscriptions : 

Withiu the vault lie buried the mortal remains of 

BusHROD Washington, 

Au Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U. S. 

He died iu Philadelphia, Nov. 26th, 1829, aged 08. 

By his side is interred his devoted wife, Anna BiiACKBUEN, 

who survived her beloved husband but two days, aged GO. 

" The heart was broke, and aches no more." 

" They were lovely and iDleasant in their lives, and in death they 
were not divided." 

This humble monument to the memory of the venerated Judge 
and his beloved wife is placed here by her niece, the widow of 
his nephew, John A. Washington. 

As a Judge he was wise and just. ''A man of truth hating 
covetousness." Firm in every honorable purpose and pursuit, 
yet gentle, humble, and condescending. A sincere Christian, 
doing in all things the will of his Master, and resting his hope of 
eternal happiness alone on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

Judge Washington was the son of John Augustine Washington, 
and the nephew of Gen'l George Washington, who appointed him 
one of his executors, and bequeathed him Mount Vernon. 



Sacred to the memory of John Augustine, son of Corbin and 
Hannah Lee Washington, and nephew of Judge Bushrod Wash- 
ington, who appointed him one of his executors, and bequeathed 
him Mt. Vernon, where he died June 16, 1832, aged .43. 



18 

His strength of mind, his firm integrity, and pure repub- 
lican principles were known to all who were familiar with him. 

His mortal remains are interred within the vault, and this hum- 
ble monument to his worth, his purity, and unostentatious ex- 
cellence in all the relations of life, is erected by his widow. 



Sacred to the memory of Eleanor Paeke Lewis, grand- 
daughter of Mrs, , & adopted daughter of General, Washington. 

Reared under the roof of the Father of his Country, this lady 
was not more remarkable for the beauty of her person than for 
the superiority of her mind. 

She lived to be admired, and died to be regretted on. the 15th 
of July, 1852, in the 74th year of her age. 



Sacred to the memory of Mrs. M. E. A. Conrad, w^ife of Chas. 
M. Conrad, of New Orleans, daughter of Law'e and Eleanor P. 
Lewis, and grand-niece of Gen'l George Washington, born April 
1st, 1813, at Woodlawn, Fairfax Co.,Va., and died Sept. 21st, 
1839, at Pass Christian, Missi., in the 27th year of her age. 
Erected to the memory of a beloved wife by her husband. 
If the possession of every virtue that adorns or dignifies her 
sex could have warded off the stroke of death, she would have 
been immortal, and those who mourn her untimely end are con- 
soled by reflection that those virtues seemed better to fit her for 
the abode to which her spirit has fled than for that which it has. 
abandoned. 



19 

THE OLD TOMB. 

The original Tomb of Washington is to the right of the 
path to the house. This spot commands an extended 
view of the river, bnthas not the seckision of the "New 
Tomb," which may have been the reason Washington 
desired the removal of the remains of the family to a 
new vault, which was not done for nearly thirty-two j^ears. 

The old tombstone, found several years since at 
"Woodlawu," a portion of Washington's estate, has 
been returned and placed in original position. It is a 
plain granite block, three feet long and two feet wide, 
with "Washington Family " upon it. Mrs. Elizabeth 
Rathbone, Vice- Regent for Michigan, on behalf of her 
State, has completely restored the Old Tomb, and pro- 
tected it with an iron railing. 

W^hen Lafayette was "the Nation's Guest" in 1824- 
'25, a military guard was his escort from Alexandria to 
visit this tomb — an event quaintly described by M. 
Levasseur, one of his suite: "The cannon of the fort, 
thundering anew, announce that Lafayette rendered 
homage to the ashes of Washington. * * * Simple 
and modest as he was during life, the tomb of the citi- 
zen-hero is scarcely perceived amid the sombre cy- 
presses by which it is surrounded ; a vault slightly 
elevated and sodded over, a wooden door without in- 
scriptions, some withered and some green garlands, 
indicate to the traveller who visits this spot the place 
where rest in peace the puissant arms which broke the 
chains of this country. At the door of the vault Mr. 
Custis presented Gen. Lafayette with a massive gold 
ring, containing some of the hair of the great man." 



20 

Near the road leadicg to the mansion was a magnifi- 
cent primeval oak, twelve feet in circumference, called 
the "Washington Oak," which, in 1882, was destroyed 
by a storm. Its wide shelter was a favorite resting- 
place of the retired chieftain on returning from the 
wharf, where he was in the habit of superintending the 
loading of his barges. 

OLD BRICK BARN. 

The first building reached after the ascent is a large 
old barn, erected in 1733 by Lawrence Washington, the 
brother from whom Washington inherited this estate. 
This commodious store-house was built of bricks 
brought from England. It has carefully been re- 
roofed, and is in a perfect state of preservation. It 
will well repay a few moments of attention, as showing 
that the gentlemen of the "old school" were not far 
behind the present time in their ideas of shelter, and 
that " a righteous man regardeth the life of his beast." 

MANSION' HO USE. 

The Mansion-House is a wooden structure, the sid- 
ings of which are cut and painted to resemble stone. 
The central and main part was built by Lawrence 
WashiDgton in 1743, and he called it " Mount Vernon," 
after his highly-esteemed superior officer in the British 
navy, the gallant Admiral Vernon. The cellar is am- 
ple, constructed according to the old-fashioned ideas 
of durability, and there seems no reason, with such a 
substantial foundation, why the building should not 
stand five hundred years, as well as one. 

The parts of the house known as th^ North and 



21 

South extensions were added b}' General Washington, 
1784-'5. The residence, as left by Lawrence Washing- 
ton, had been termed a " villa ;" as enlarged, with ex- 
tensions, colonnades in front and back, by George 
Washington, it was dignified as a " Mansion House." 
Its length is ninety-six feet and its depth thirty feet. 
The east piazza extends the entire front of the house. 
It is fifteen feet wide and twenty-five feet high. Eight 
large square pillars support the roof, which is orna- 
mented by a balustrade. It is paved with flags, 
brought from the Isle of Wight, which are twelve 
inches square and two and a half inches thick. On 
the west are curved colonnades, leading on one side to 
the family, and on the other to the state, kitchen. 



MAIN HALL. 

{Alabama.') 

Entering the central hall 
from the east, the first object 
of interest is the " Key of the 
Bastile," which hangs in a 
glass casket on the south wall. 

This emblem of oppression 
was presented to the " great 
friend of Liberty " by Lafay- 
ette, immediately after the 
destruction of the Bastile, 
1789, a comphment highly 
prized by Washington. In 
writing 



of it, the Marquis 




22 

said: "It is a tribute which I owe as a son to my 
adopted father ; as an aide-de-camp to my general ; as 
a missionary of liberty to its patriarch." 

This souvenir was confided to the care of that 
staunch republican, Thomas Paine, who, being de- 
tained in London, consigned it to another person, with 
a model and drawing of the Bastile which had been 
ordered by Lafayette previous to his command to 
demolish the old prison. Paine, in writing to Wash- 
ington, very happily says : " That the principles of 
America opened the Bastile is not to be doubted ; and, 
therefore, the key comes to the right place." 

Here, also, is a fac-simile of Marquis de Lafayette's 
agreement to serve in the Continental arm3% made 
in 1776 with Silas Deane at Paris. It may not be 
generally known that Lafaj^ette agreed to serve with- 
out remuneration upon condition that he should be 
permitted to return to France whenever called by his 
family or King. He was then only nineteen, and his 
noble house would not allow him to enter our. army 
unless he received the rank of Major- General. 

In 1884, Mrs. Ella Smith Herbert, Vice-Regent for 
Alabama, secured the sword worn by Washington at 
Braddock's Defeat. Several years before his death he 
gave it to his nephew, George Lewis, from whose 
family it was purchased. This valuable souvenir is 
placed in a handsomely mounted glass case, on the 
north wall of the hall. Above it are life-size bas-relief 
portraits, in bronze, of Washiugton and Lafayette, and 
r=ear by are two autograph letters of Washington. 



23 

The Yice-T^egent has also replaced three old eng^rav- 
iDgs that " hiiDg" ill the passage'' — The Death of Mont- 
gomery, The Battle of Bunker Hill, by Col. Trunibulh 
1798, and St. Agnes, 1759. The ceiling has been re- 
newed, and the panelled walls painted in their origi- 
nal tints. The old floor, being greatlj' worn, was in 
1875 removed, and replaced by a substantial double 
floor (the nnder layer being of yellow pine, and the 
upper of solid oak with black walnut bordering), by 
Mrs. Hannah B. Farnsworth, late Yice-Regent for 
Michigan. 

The old-style waiuscotings and the designs of cor- 
nice and ceiling of this hall and the two rooms on 
either side — this being the old part of the house — will 
attract general attention. The view from the east door 
commands the Potomac, or Pedhammock [" They are 
coming"], as the Indians named this noble stream. 
The generous lawn, gardens, and encircling forests on 
the west present a scene of equal beauty. The ponder- 
ous brass knocker on the west door of the hall, which 
has been lifted by so many illustrious guests, presents 
a dignified individuality markedly in contrast with the 
giddy, jingling bell of modern times. On the step 
outside the door is a pair of the once indispensable 
" scrapers,'' contemporary with the stately knocker. 

STAIRWAY. 

The stairway leading from the main hall is divided 
into three sections, and is broad, but severely plain. 
On the first landing is an old clock, a presentation 
from New Jersey. 



24 




The Harpsichord. 

THE EAST PARLOR, OR MUSIG ROOM, 
{Ohio,) 
has been chosen bj Ohio, and tistefully furnished in 
the style of the Revolution through the efforts of the 
Vice-Regent, who has restored this room with historical 
fidelity. Washington had the elegant blue tapestry sig- 
nificantly decorated with musical instruments. The 
cord lambrequins, the tambour-worked muslin curtains, 
with gilt cornices surmounted by the American Eagle^ 



25 

are copies of the original furnisliiugs. The haiulsome 
cabinet, pier- table, and chairs, bearing the Washington 
crest, were manufactured in the Queen Cit3\ The 
dainty designs of the ceiling and the delicate tints of 
the walls are faithfully reproduced. In this room is 
Washington's silver-mounted rosewood flute, recently 
purchased from a relative. Here, also, are the harpsi- 
chord and the music-stool, the first President's bridal 
present to Eleanor Parke Custis, his adopted daughter, 
given to the Association by her daughter-in-law, Mrs. 
Lorenzo Lewis. It was an elegant piece of furniture 
a century ago, and was ordered from London at a cost 
of one thousand dollars. The guitar, or " citra " as it 
is called in the old instruction book which accompanied it, 
belonged to Washington's first cousin, Mrs. Fauntleroy 
■nee Sarah Ball. Purchased from her granddaughter. 
The old Venetian mirror is the same style which hung 
there in the time of Washington, and the card table is 
one at which Washington and Lafayette played whist. 
In the cabinet will be seen a plan of the tiles of the 
piazza at Mount Vernon, drawn by Washington, with 
his written instructions, from Philadelphia to his 
nephew in regard to having it repaired during his 
absence. Washington's spectacles, presented by his 
great grand-niece, Mrs. Mary Byrd Dallas. A Pallissy 
china figure which belonged to him, and was purchased 
from one of the family. The glass preserve dish and 
champagne glasses were owned by Washington. A 
plate of Owarroo china which belonged to Mrs. Faunt- 
leroy. Two dishes of blue and gold, part of Mrs. Wash- 
ington's dessert set, a gift from the late Mr. W. W. 
Corcoran. 



26 

BANQUET HALL. 
{Neio York.) 

The Music Koom opens into the north extension, or 
Banquet Hall, which has been taken by the Vice-Reg-ent 
of New York for that State, and in its day was a princely 
salon. Lafayette, Rochambeau, L'Enfant, Brissot, 
Hamilton, Thomson, Jefferson, Madison, Marshall, 
Moustier, Henry, Monroe, Henry Lee, Dr. Craik, 
DTrujo, Morris, Mason, Dr. Thornton, the artists Hou- 
don, C. W. Peale, Trumbull, Latrobe, Pine and many of 
the great generals of the Revolution honored it with 
their presence. The high ceiling is white, ornamented 
with stucco-work. The design comprises a large cir- 
cular centre-piece, bordered with an arabesque pattern. 
Irregular-shaped panels complete the oblong, and in 
each panel are implements and emblems of agricul- 
ture. Enclosing all is a rich border of intertwining, 
grape and laurel. The walls, of beautiful colonial buff, 
are finished with a deep indented frieze, decorated 
with festoons of leaves, and bordered with a narrow 
carving, below which is a band of delicate gray, with 
white stucco-ornaments. 

This room was completed in 1784, and it is said the 
first paper was hung upon its walls by illustrious 
hands. It was at the time of Lafayette's third visit 
to America, and he, with several French noblemen, 
were at Mount Vernon. A ball was to be given in their 
honor. The paper, imported from England, had arrived, 
but the upholsterer failed to appear, greatly, to the 
annoj'ance of the hostess. The gallant Marquis, with 




Mantel, State Dintng-R( om. — (Seep. 2S.) 



28 

his national enthusiasm, exclaimed: "Madame, do not 
despair ; see, here are three able-bodied men who will 
readily accomplish it." Whereupon, to the chagrin of 
Mrs. Washington, the work of paper-hanging was 
commenced by the visitors, who were promptly and 
efficiently assisted by General Washington. 

An elaborately carved mantel-piece of Carrara mar- 
ble, with Sienna marble columns, is the chief ornament 
of this room. This exquisite work has been attributed 
to Canova. It was wrought in Italy, and presented 
to Washington by Mr. Samuel Vaughan, an English 
gentleman. On its passage from Italy it fell into the 
hands of French pirates, who, upon discovering that it 
was intended for George Washington, sent it uninjured 
to its destination. It has received less respectful 
treatment from unknown land pirates, for its delicately 
carved figures and ornaments have been mutilated and 
broken by relic-hunters. Strange to say, this and other 
kinds of reckless desecration are frequently indulged 
in by persons who visit Mount Vernon, in spite of the 
watchful care of the Superintendent and his associates. 

An elegant old hand-carved mahogany sideboard, 
with heavy bevelled glass doors, is in this room, and 
in it are placed valuable relics. A large mahogany 
table, of the stylo from which banquets were served 
here a century ago, stands in the centre and is used 
by the Association in council. 

On a massive rosewood table, under a large glass 
with heavy silver mountings, is 



29 

A MODEL OF THE BASTILE, 

cut from the granite stones of the demolished prison. 
It was presented to Washington by Lafaj'ette. Accom- 
panying it is a plan of the interior of the prison, with 
its approaches, which affords a trustworthy study of 
this celebrated blood-stained pile. 

The large plain arm-chair now kept in this room 
came over on the Mayflower. The two elegant mir- 
rors, more than a hundred and fifty years old, were 
given by one of the Van Rensselaer family. 

On the mantel once stood three rare porcelain vases, 
made in India and ornamented in London, which were 
sent to Washington by the same gentleman who pre- 
sented the mantel-piece. These " China Jars," as they 
were called in the sworn list taken by the appraisers 
of the furniture, and many other ornaments and objects 
of interest which came from Mount Vernon, are now 
in the National Museum. It would be appropriate if 
these and other articles of furniture and ornament 
should be restored to their places in the Mansion. 
The fine specimen of sea-weed on the mantel has been 
there at least half a century, having been placed in its 
present position hj John Augustine Washington. An 
interesting history is given of the two mahogany tri- 
pods, or flower-stands, which have lately been returned 
to the place they occupied during the lifetime of Wash- 
ngton. 

Dr. William Thornton was an intimate fi'iend of the 
first President, and presented to him, on the 2d of April 
1792, the plan for the Capitol, which Mr. S. Hallet 
afterwards modified and made more easy of execution. 



30 

On the occasion of Dr. Thornton's marriage, he took 
his bride to Mt. Vernon, and when they were leaving 
the General sug-gested making them a wedding present. 
The young wife replied that some memento of the house 
would be more highly prized than any other gift, where- 
upon she was requested to select some article, and she 
chose the tripods, which were given her. At her death 
they passed to a friend ; but were finally sold, and 
bought by the generous sods of the late Mrs. Robert 
Campbell, Vice-Regent for Missouri, who restored them 
to the Banquet Hall, after obtaining j)roofs of their au- 
thenticity, certified to before a notary public. 

Over one door hangs a fine copy of Stuart's Wash- 
ington, and over another a copy of Trumbull's portrait, 
representing him in Continental uniform, both pictures 
having been painted and presented by J. R. Lambdin, 
a Philadelphia artist. Beneath the latter hangs a frame 
containing an admirable eulogy, which was presented 
the Association by Gen. Rob. C. Schenck. 

" This tribute to the memory of George Washington 

was written at his grave in 1833, by Dr. Andrew Reed, 

an English philanthropist, and left by him with the 

ladies of the General's family. Dr. Reed asks : ' How 

could the people suffer Mount Vernon to pass into 

ruin ? Surely it is a thing impossible ! ' " 

Washington, 

The Brave, The Wise, The Good ; 

Washington, 

Supreme in War, in Council, and in Peace. 

Washington, 

Valiant Discreet Coniident 

without without without 

Ambition; Fear; Presumption; 



31 

Washington, 

lu Disaster, Calm ; lu Success, Moderate ; lu All, 

Himse 

Washington, 

The Hero, The Patriot, the Christiau ; 

The Father of Natious, The Frieud of Maukiud ; 

who. 

When he had won all, renouuced all, 

and sought. 

In the Bosom of his Family and of Nature, 

Retirement, 

And, in the Hope of Eeligion, 

Immortality, 

Above the door opeuing upon the piazza is a silken 
bannev bearing the royal arms of England. This sou- 
venir was presented to the Association by General Grant, 
and has been framed and glazed to preserve it from 
injury. On "the left of the marble mantel hangs an en- 
graved portrait of David Kittenhouse. It belonged to 
Washington, but was sold with other effects in 1802, 
and was presented to the Association in 1886 by Mr. 
James K. Cleary, of Washington, D. C. 

The exquisite copy in water- colors of Elizabeth 
Sharpless' miniature of Washington, beneath which in 
gilt text is the matchless Eulogium attributed to Rich- 
ardson, and the woven reproduction of the Stuart head 
— a triumph of the French loom— hang here. They 
were presented to the Vice-Regent for New York by 
the late A. Walton White Evans, of New Rochelle, 
eminent civil engineer and graceful writer. 

On the west side of the room is the famous eques- 
trian portrait of Washington, by Rembrandt Peale, 



32 

' ' WASHING TON BEFORE YORKTO WiV, " 
which was presented to the ladies of the " Mount Ver- 
non Association" in June, 1873, by the heirs of that 
distinguished artist. Few other pictures of the great 
man ehcited so much approval from his contempora- 
ries, and this valuable canvas could not be placed amid 
more harmonious associations. 

It presents the Captain in the zenith of his glorj^, and 
at a moment when all the force of the commander is 
called forth in the act of rebuking a subordinate for 
perilous neglect of duty. The accompanying portraits 
of Hamilton, Lafayette, Knox, Lincoln, and Rocham- 
beau greatly enhance the picture. The elegant walnut 
frame of this painting was made from a tree grown 
upon the farm of Robert Morris, the financier of the 
Revolution. The artist executed this painting with the 
hope of placing it in the Rotunda of the National 
Capitol. 

WEST PAULOR. 
{Illinois.) 

The work of restoring this room, assumed by the 
State of Illinois, has been handsomely achieved. When 
in 1878 it was discovered that the ceiling, so badly 
cracked, was in danger of falling, competent artists 
were employed, and the removal of the stucco orna- 
mentation successfully accomplished. The 2,800 small 
stucco leaves, radiating from the centre of the ceiling, 
with every available fragment of the old material, were 
replaced after the removal of the plaster with the most 
satisfactory result. 



33 

The mantel is surmounted by the family coat-of-arms. 
The description is as follows : Crest — ''A raven, with 
wings issuing out of a ducal coronet ; shield with her- 
aldic colors, two red bars across it, and above three 
spur-rowels : the three stars indicate the filial distinc- 
tion of the third son." Some writers conclude that the 
origin of the Hag of the United States of America may 
be traced to this coat-of-arms, but evidence is wanting to 
support their pleasing theories. The quaint dark paint- 
ing over the mantel, " Admiral Vernon before Cartha- 
gena," is the only picture which was left in the Mansion 
by the Washington family. It was presented to Law- 
rence Washington by Admiral Vernon, in recogni- 
tion of his services to the Admiral in 1741. A piece 
was torn from the corner (by a woman, I am sorry to 
say, in search of relics). The fragment was recovered, 
and the picture skilfully restored. The cornices and 
brass supports for the curtains are as old as the Man- 
sion, and a curious old mirror bears a memorial device, 
with the initials " G. W." 

In response to an appeal from Mrs. Elizabeth Wil- 
lard Barry, late Vice-Kegent of Illinois, made in 1880, 
Senator Edmond de La Fayette, grandson of General 
Lafayette, sent to Mount Vernon a chair. It is of the 
XVIth century ; it was from the Castle Chavagnac, 
Auvergne, France, where General Lafayette was born 
September 6th, 1757. Other 'chairs in this room were 
used by the Washington family, and were originally 
covered with leather, a piece of which, deposited in a 
frame, presents the style. A few gold threads from 



34 

General Washington's epaulettes are in like manner pre- 
served. Among the well-chosen engravings on the walls 
is a beautiful full-length portrait of Louis XVI in 
robes of state. This is from the same plate as the one 
sent to General Washington by his most Christian 
Majesty, with many expressions of regard, through 
Colonel David Humphreys in 1786. It is in a taste- 
fully designed frame, on which in bold relief are the 
arms and initials of Louis XVI and of Washington. 

FAMIL Y DINING-ROOM. 

{South Carolina.) 
This room, on the south side of the main hall, has 
been assigned to the Vice-Regent of South Carolina, 
who has restored it to the condition left by General 
Washington, and furnished it handsomely and appro- 
priately, the funds having been subscribed by that 
State. The walls are very delicately colored, and the 
ceiling is in arabesque pattern, low bas-relief neutral 
tints and gilding. The floor waxed and polished, and 
upon it is a heavy Persian rug. The large antique brass 
fire-irons are from the old Rutledge home ; also the 
brass fender, which was given by Mrs. Ann B. Reese, of 
Tennessee, a member of that family. An old-fashioned 
corner cupboard is filled with china, a reproduction of 
the set presented to Mrs. Washington by officers of the 
French fleet in 1792. This china is decorated with the 
Washington coat-of-arms and a chain wreath enclosing 
the names of the fifteen States then forming the Union, 
Kentucky and New Hampshire having been added to 



35 

the old thirteen. A hfe-size bust of Washiugton, hav- 
ing emblematic jewel of a Grand Master, presented by 
the Masons of South Carolina, is placed on a polished 
column of palmetto wood. The city of Charleston 
gave a bust portrait, in oil, of General Pickens, and 
one of General Francis Marion was presented by the 
ladies of Charleston ; one of General Moultrie was 
given by the Society of the Cincinnati of South Caro- 
lina ; one of Baron de Kalb was a gift from the Ger- 
man Friendly Society, and one of General Sumter, pre- 
sented by the city of Columbia. These portraits form 
a brilliant group of heroes of the war of American In- 
dependence. A portrait, by J. E. Lambdin, of Miss 
Cunningham, first Regent, is also in this room. 

The sideboard in this room belonged to General 
Washington, and was in use during his life at Mount 
Vernon. This interesting relic was presented by Mrs. 
Eobert E. Lee, for Mount Vernon, to Mrs. Mary T. 
Barnes, Vice-Regent for the District of Columbia, who 
considerately placed it in the family dining-room. 

MRS. WASHINGTON'S SITTING ROOM. 

(^Georgia.) 
The State of Georgia has taken the room east of this, 
which before the building of the extension was Washing- 
ton's library. It is probable the account he gave his 
brother of the battle of Monongahela was penned in this 
little room. It is a spirited description of a battle, and 
remarkable as written by one of the chief actors in it 
without mentioning his own name. It is accepted as 



36 

the only authentic account of that sanguinary engage- 
ment written in America. Here was also written the 
Farewell Address, delivered at Annapolis Dec. 23, 1783. 
It has been generously furnished by Mrs. Margaret 
Gardner Gould, of Augusta, Georgia. " The Washington 
Family," painted and engraved by E. Savage, was pre- 
sented by the Vice-Regent. On the walls is an approved 
photograph of Miss Pamela Cunningham. She was 
deeply impressed with the idea that the care of the house 
and tomb of Washington should be confided to the 
women of this country. Under the 7iom deplume of " The 
Southern Matron." her appeals aroused a widespread 
interest, calling forth immediate practical enthusiasm 
throughout the Union, and notably the assistance of 
Edward Everett. Miss Cunningham was refined and 
cultivated — endowed with untiring energy and remark- 
able executive ability — though an invalid, accomplished 
a great national work. She devoted many years of her 
life to the organization and establishment of " The 
Ladies' Mount Vernon Association of the Union," dis- 
playing fine discrimination in calling to her aid, as Vice- 
Regents, women of dignity, ability, and patriotism. 



37 




THE LIBRARY. 

{Massachusetts.) 

Through a small hall, the Library, or south exten- 
sion, is reached. This room was designed by Washing- 
ton, and is so plain as to seem to have no design atall. 
It is square, and has two large windows opening to 
the floor, which lead to the south portico. This portico 
in 1875 was restored, and so very exactly does it re- 
semble the old structure that it is thought by many to 



38 

be the original one. From it a fine view is had of the 
river and the lawn, containing both tombs. 

The Library is in the charge of the Vice-Eegent for 
the " Old Bay State," who appropriately furnished it. 
Upon the high carved mantel is an old-style clock, and 
upon the walls are cabinet miniatures, by Sharpless, of 
Gen. and Mrs. Washington. There are five chairs, two of 
which belonged to Mount Vernon, an old table, a hand- 
some secretary, a Washington autograph letter, and in 
the ample book-cases a few volumes of Washington- 
iana. Of the articles originally here there remains a 
fine plaster head of Lafayette, a reproduction by Hou- 
don of the cast used for the bust ordered from him by 
Virginia for the Capitol at Richmond. An interesting 
painting which hangs on the west wall was also formerly 
at Mount Vernon, and has been presented to the Massa- 
chusetts room by Hon. Theodore Lyman, Boston. It 
is " The Great Falls of the Potomac," painted by the 
English artist Beck, from a point selected by General 
Washington, and was purchased for Mr. Isaac P. Davis, 
Boston, at the sale of furniture. Mount Vernon, 1800. 

The library is deceptive ; it is not so meaningless, 
with its simple wainscoting, as it seems. It is a room 
within rooms — in a word, three sides of it are closets ; 
seventeen are known — panel closets for silver, little 
closets in corners near the floor and near the ceiling — 
closets within closets. 

In the days of Washington this room was by far the 
most attractive in the Mansion. Aside from the inter- 
est connected with such a man's study, here were be- 



39 

stowed some of the rarest relics of the Revolutionary 
struggle — swords, pistols, guns, the compass made by 
David Rittenhouse, spy-glasses, sashes, velvet saddle- 
housings, and numerous other articles of personal prop- 
erty associated with different campaigns. Here stood 
the "tambour secretary and circular chair," by will 
devised "to mj companion-in-arms and intimate friend. 
Dr. Craik." The "iron chest" stood in one corner — a 
repository of valuables ; among them were the silver 
badge of the Order of Cincinnati, and the gold badge of 
the same Order, presented by the French officers. 
The most important and interesting of its contents 
was the gold medal ordered by the Continental Con- 
gress for Washington in 1776, upon the evacuation of 
the city of Boston by the British army. This was the 
first medallic memorial of this country, and can have 
no rival in historic value. It was purchased from a 
member of the Washington family by fifty citizens of 
Boston and presented to that city on the centenary 
of the event it commemorates, March 17, 1876. 

It was doubtless in the library, in the presence of 
his family, and surrounded by so many silent witnesses 
of his former services, that on the 14th of April, 1789, 
Washington received from Charles Thonason, Secre- 
tary of the Continental Congress, the official announce- 
ment of his election as President of the United States. 



40 

LAFAYETTE'S ROOM. 

{NeiD Jersey.) 

The first room on the left, opening into the upper 
hall, is known as the " Lafayette Room," in honor of 
the Marquis, who occupied it on each of his visits ta 
Mount Vernon. It was chosen and furnished by the 
Vice-Regent of New Jersey. The bureau was placed 
there when the room was fitted up for its distinguished 
occupant ; and the small dressing-case was in the room 
which Lafayette occupied at the residence of General 
Elias Dayton, whom he visited at Elizabethtown, New 
Jersey. Upon the walls is a small fruit-piece embroid- 
ered in silk, a contribution by a descendant of the fair 
dame who so deftly wrought it during the Revolution. 
There is an engraving, by Ormsby, of Stuart's full 
length portrait of Washington, from the picture which 
was painted for the Marquis of Lansdowne ; also an en- 
graving by Buttre, after Wollaston, from the portrait 
of Martha Washington, known as the " Bride of Mount 
Vernon." The latter is a wonderfully beautiful face, 
with the well-drawn eyes for which this artist was dis- 
tinguished in his pictures of women ; but it is often 
criticised, because it gives the effect of her being a tall 
woman. She is represented as having just stepped 
from the piazza at Mount Vernon. A very fine engrav- 
ing, by Leroux, of Ary Scheffer's portrait of Lafayette 
is in this room. The original, presented to the United 
States in 1822, is in the Hall of Representatives. It 
was painted at Chateau La Grange during a visit of 
the artist to his friend. There is also a handsome 
portrait, in India ink, of Lord Chatham, and an en- 
graved head of Baron Steuben. 



41 

RIVER ROOM. 
(Peniisyhania.) 
The second room was a guest-chamber in the time 
of Washington. It has been refitted by the Regent, 
Mrs. Lily L. IMacalester Laughton, with handsome old 
furniture, part of which was used hj Washington in 
Pennsylvania. The bedstead is the one he slept upon 
on his march to Valley Forge, to take possession of 
his headquarters for the miserable winter of 1777-8. 
The chair immediately opposite the door was used by 
Washington in the Executive Mansion at Philadelphia, 
and presented to Mount Vernon, through the Regent, 
by Col. Frank M. Etting of that city. Two of the 
chairs in this room were the property of that staunch 
patriot, Elias Boudinot, President of Congress in 1782, 
appointed by Washington third Director of the United 
States Mint ; — a man distinguished in war and in peace 
for his sound judgment and his wide-spread charity. 
The corner chair belonged to one of the earliest Puri- 
tan settlers. There are several valuable engravings^ 
a full-length Washington, also a Jefferson, and a rare 
engraving of Canova's statue of Washington, ordered 
by the State of North Carolina in 1814, and destroyed 
at the burning of the Court-House of Raleigh in 1830. 
Washington is seated, and presented in the costume of 
an old Roman, holding in his hand a stone tablet, upon 
which he has begun to inscribe laws, and, with his 
sword under his feet, he is leaving in the past the 
chieftain and becoming the statesman. The inscrip- 
tion is — " Giorgio Washington. 
" Alia Grande Nazione degli Stati Uniti di America. 

"Antonio Canova." 



42 

G UE8T- CHAMBER. 
{Delaware. ) 
The small room on the east front of the hall was 
selected by the Vice-Regent of Delaware, and it is fur- 
nished with revolutionary relics. On the south side of 
the hall is 

MISS CUSTIS' ROOM. 
{Maryland.) 
This room has been given to Maryland, and fur- 
nished by the Vice-Regent, assisted by other ladies, 
of that State. It was formerly occupied by Eleanor 
Custis. The wash-stand and one of the chairs were 
sent from the old Carroll seat, Doughragen Manor- 
house, by the grandsons of that dauntless signer of the 
Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll of Car- 
rollton. 

GREEN ROOM. 
{West Virginia.) 
West Virginia has selected the adjoining room, the 
windows of which command the river and the Mary- 
land shore. The Vice-Regent, Mrs. Ella Bassett 
Washington, is a descendant of the Washington and 
Dandridge families, and the articles she has placed 
here are relics of the Revolution. The handsomely 
carved bedstead came from Eltham, on the York river, 
the residence of Colonel Bassett, brother-in-law of 
Martha Washington. It stood in the room always oc- 
cupied by Washington, and upon it John Custis, the 
only son of Mrs. Washington, died. 



43 

Young Castis was aide-de-camp to Washington, who, 
at the time of his fatal illness, was at Yorktown. He 
arrived at Eltham *'time enough," he wrote to Lafay- 
ette, "to see poor Mr. Custis breathe his last.' He 
was very devoted to his stepson, and, turning to his 
young widow, he said : "From this hour I adopt your 
two younger children as my own." These were Eleanor 
Parke Custis, two years and a half old, and George 
Washington Parke Custis, about six months old; and, 
through the fatherly care of the great chief, they never 
had occasion to realize that they had been so early left 
orphans. 

The two elegant mahogany chairs were once the 
property of Benjamin Harrison, a signer of the Decla- 
ration of Independence, and were afterwards owned by 
his son, President W. H. Harrison. An old arm-chair 
and the mirror over the mantel were the property of 
William Augustine Washington, oldest nephew, and 
one of the executors of Washington's will. Ui3on the 
walls are three small pictures, colored crayons : one is 
a view of " Wakefield," the birthplace of Washington in 
Westmoreland Co., Va., also Durand's engraving of 
Stuart's Washington. 

Copies in oil of fine old portraits of Mrs. Betty 
Lewis and of Lawrence Washington were added in 
1888. 

The liquor-case in this room was presented to Wash- 
ington by Lord Fairfax. A peculiar friendship existed 
between the old nobleman and the young surveyor, 
who was commissioned by Lord Fairfax to make sur- 
veys of his property beyond the Blue Kidge. 



45 

THE HOOM IN WHICH WASHINGTON DIED. 

{Virginia.) 

Passing from the West Virginia room, through a 
small hall, the aj^artment in which Washington died is 
entered. It is a bed-room of medium size. On the right 
is a large fire-place, in which is observed the Washing- 
ton coat-of-arms. On the left is a dressing-room and 
an ample linen closet ; on the south are two large win. 
dows which may be slid back into the wall, and reach 
to the floor. They open upon the top of the portico, 
and command a beautiful view. Every article of furni- 
ture in this room was used by General Washington. 
The bedstead is the one upon which he died. The 
two gilt brackets and a gilt-framed mirror were origi- 
nally at Mount Vernon. The superb old inlaid secre- 
tary was used by General Washington for many years. 
These are intrusted, through the Vice-Eegent for Vir- 
ginia, to the care of the Ladies' Association by General 
G. W. P. Custis Lee. The old arm-chair was the favor- 
ite seat of Mrs. Washington. The hair trunk, studded 
with brass nails and marked "1775," with brass plate 
engraved "G. W.," was General Washington's coach 
trunk. 

The small dressing-stand, with mirror and toilet 
boxes, was used by Mrs. Washington upon her 
toilet-table. These extremely interesting relics were 
presented to the Association by Mrs. G. K Golds- 
borough. 

The portrait of Washington was copied by Mr. Elder 
from an original miniature, which originally belonged. 



46 

to his brother, Charles Washington. The embroidered 
dimity chair-cover is the work of Frances Washington 
Ball, niece of the General ; and was presented by her 
grandson's wife, the Vice-Eegent for Virginia. On the 
bed is a linen counterpane (spun from flax grown in 
Kentucky while that State belonged to Virginia), em- 
broidered by Mrs. Harrison, grandmother of the Vice- 
Regent for Louisiana. The compass was the gift of 
Judge Ball, and was long used by Washington. The 
candle-stand was presented by Major B. P. Noland. 
On the wall in the hall is an interesting relic — a news- 
paper published in New "York, in which was the first 
announcement in that State of the death of Washington. 
The following extract may be of interest. Its decorous 
utterances of profound grief are quite Addisonian, and 
illustrate the style and stilted ceremonial of the times : 

Mercantile Advertiser, N. Y., 

Saturday, Dec. list, 1799. 
We feel a fenfation of forrow which no language of ours can fufficiently 
defcribe when we record the diftreffing intelligence that 
On Saturday, the 14th inftant, 
Died suddenly 
At his feat, Mount Vernon, in the State of Virginia, 
GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Ajmies of the 
United States of America. 
" A CoKinthian pillar in the Temple of Immortality ! " 
Mature in Years, 
Covered with Glory, 
and rich in the affections of the American people. 

(Reader, whoever thou art, in whatever part of the world refident, 
mourn with us the death of the friend of liberty and man 5 the faviour of 
his country, the defender of her rights — the warrior, the ftatefman, and 
the private citizen 5 who never fwerved from thepaths of rectitude in 
the tour of duty, never arrogated to himself unwarrantable power, though 



47 

placed in fituations to command it, and vvhofe every action tended to the 
public good, from his early days to the end of his existence. It were in 
vain for us to attempt to delineate all the virtues of this great man in a 
newspaper paragraph ; to thofe more acquainted with the particulars of 
his life we ref ign the tafk of enumerating each particular excellence, but 
to us it belongs to record in general terms the good qualities fo univer- 
fally refpected, whether in public or retired life. In the field, in the 
cabinet, or af a private individual of the community, he commanded uni- 
verfal admiration and efteem. In every fenfe of the word, he was a man 
whofe like we Ihall probably never again be permitted to fee, and whofe 
virtues will be held in everlafting remembrance.) 

The following is the most particular account of this mournful event 
we have yet seen : 

Extract of a letter from Alexandria^ dated December \z^th. 

" I mention to you the truly melancholy event of the death of our 
much beloved General George Washington. He made his exit last 
night between the hours of 1 1 and 12, after a (hort but painful illnefs of 
23 hours. The diforder of which he died is by fome called Crupe, by 
others an Inflammatory guinfey, a diforder lately fo mortal among chil- 
dren in this place, and I believe not until this year known to attack per- 
fons at the age of maturity. 

" My information I have from Dr. Dick,, who was called in at a late 
hour. Alexandria is making arrangements to fhow its high efteem for 
him. We are all clofe to our houfes, and act as we fhould do if one of 
our family had departed. The bells are to toll daily until he is buried, 
which will not be until Wednefday or Thurfday. He died perfectly in 
his fenfes, and from Dr. Dick's account perfectly resigned. He informed 
them he had no fear of death, that his affairs were in good order, that he 
had made his will, and that his public bufiness was but two days behind- 
hand." 

THE ROOM IN WHICH MRS. WASHINGTON DIED. 

( Wisconsin. ) 

A small stairway leads to the room above, used by 
the widow of Washington from the day of his death 
until May, 1801, a year and a half afterwards, when 
she, too, died. 

This room has one piece of the original furniture, 
the small plain mahogany corner toilet-stand ; but it 



48 

has been very elegantly refitted by Mrs. Mitchell, 
Tice-Regent from Wisconsin. Every piece of furniture 
has been reproduced in mahogany. The carpet, of home 
manufacture, has been replaced by rugs made in this 
country in the style of those days. The old gay calico 
bed-hangings are copied in softest woolen cretonne, 
and lined with rose-colored rep-silk. These hangings 
are finished with fringe and caught with heavy cord and 
tassels ; the elegant chairs are upholstered with the 
same material ; the pillow-cases are reproduced with 
an embroidered crest and the initials, M. W. Upon a 
Bible-stand in the room is the coat-of-arms, with motto, 
^' Exitus acta prohat^' and on one of the bureaux is a 
work-box and a pair of small white vases, decorated 
with a simple spray of rose-colored hyacinths. 

Martha Washington was a woman distinguished even 
among those dames of strong character whom the trials 
of the Revolution developed. She was beautiful, in- 
telligent, dignified, and practical. She was often with 
her husband at headquarters, and in after time said she 
had heard the first and the last gun of every campaign 
during the seven years' struggle. The soldiers were 
devoted to her, never forgetting how she cheered and 
^ encouraged them at Valley Forge, at Morristown, and 
at Newburgh. A model Virginia housewife, presiding 
over her generous board with a gracious charm peculiar 
to her, and through which she won the admiration of 
all who knew her as wife of the Chief Magistrate. As 
wife and mother her tenderness and devotion crown 
her with the true glory of womanhood. During the 



49 

eighteen months that she survived her beloved hus- 
band the lonely mourner passed much of her time by 
the window of her room. There, tenderty cared for 
by her affectionate family and devoted servants, she 
sat by the window, because from it alone could she 
command a view of her husband's resting-place : 

'' Gazing through the morning's light, 

At noon-tide, looking fondly down — 
Peering forth in sombre night — 

Or when the leaves are green or brown ; 
Or when the snow soft shrouds the mound, 
Where lies the sleeper under ground." 

" Looking and longing over there, with faith 
That in some golden hour, his spirit, robed 
In drapery of light, and winged with love. 
Should come to her with blessings in his eyes, 
And sweetly feed, with old-time rapturous smiles. 
Her famished soul. O, wondrous, wondrous Love ! 
"Which dieth not with death, nor yet hath life 
Save with the living. Thou Mystery of Universe ! " 

There are five other small rooms on the third floor. 
They are half-stories and lighted by dormer windows. 
The northeast room has been fitted up with handsome 
furniture of the period of the Revolution. It contains 
a beautifully carved bedstead, two elegant chairs, a 
bureau, a quaint shaving mirror — all of solid mahog- 
any. The linen used in this chamber was spun and 
woven by a lady of the patriotic old State of Connecti- 
cut in the seventieth year of her life. 

NORTH CAROLINA ROOM. 

The northwest room has been furnished by the Vice- 
Regent for North Carolina with old mahogany furni- 



50 

ture, most of it nearly one hundred years old. In it 
are two chairs which were used when the Legislature 
of North Carolina, with Governor Martin, met with 
the administrative board of the Moravian Church at 
Salem, North Carolina, in 1781. These chairs were 
donated by the Board to the North Carolina Room. 

It contains also a beautiful dressing-table and toilet- 
stand of dark mahogany — reproductions of that time. 

MAINE ROOM. 

At the Council of 1885 the Upper North Chamber, 
above the Banquet Hall, was bestowed upon Maine. The 
Vice-Regent for that State, Mrs. Margaret J. M. Sweat, 
met with such prompt and generous response from 
the citizens of that State that she was, within the year, 
enabled to furnish it in harmonious style. The furni- 
ture, all of the date of the Revolution, was chiefly 
collected in Virginia. Upon the walls there is an old 
French engraved portrait of Washington, also a curi- 
ous old print called "The Shade at the Tomb." The 
walls are painted colonial buff, and upon the floor is 
a Persian rug. 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ROOM. 

Of the five small guest-chambers in the old part of 
the Mansion, the Vice-Regent of the District of Colum- 
bia has selected the one on the southwest, and furnished 
it, through her efforts, with exceptionally interesting 
articles. Two mahogany chairs belonged to Mount 
Vernon. The bureau was owned by the Calvert family 



51 

The bedstead and little toilet-mirror are more than 
a century old, having been in use at '^ Mount Airy," 
the home of the Tayloes, in Virginia. 

CUPOLA. 

From the small square hall (third floor) is a winding 
stairway to the cupola, which is octagonal. 

The view from this elevation is sweeping and grand. 
The Potomac seems almost to surround the estate in 
its majestic bend. Fort Washington appears to have 
drawn nearer. Looking west, the Virginia hills are 
beautifully defined, and three-quarters of a mile away 
is seen the old porter's lodge, which marks the bound- 
ary of the present estate. Leading thither, from the 
lawn gate, is an avenue, a pleasant shaded drive in for- 
mer days. The undergrowth has been removed and 
the trees trimmed, so as to leave an unobstructed view 
of the lodge ; and in 1887 the old drive was restored. 

WEST LA ^VN. 

Leaving the house from the west door, the interest 
that Washington personally bestowed upon domestic 
claims is fully realized. All that could contribute to 
the happiness of his dependents or the pleasure of his 
friends was a matter of conscience with him. Agricul- 
ture in its higher and lower branches was an endless 
source of delight to him. 

From either extension on the west side there is a 
curved colonnade ; on the right hand is the " Office," a 
house a story and a half high, a room of which was also 
used to cook the great dinners in, as the appliances of a 



52 

large fire-place indicate. Opposite is the family kitchen, 
where the daily meals of the family were prepared. 

The immense fire-place, the crane, the low dutch 
range, the large hominy mortar, show that the require- 
ments of the cook were neither small nor unheeded. 
But a step outside the kitchen is the well from w^hich 
it was the pride of "West Ford," an old servant of the 
estate, to hand to visitors a cup of cold water. Near 
this side of the kitchen-door are the " milk-house," 
'• meat-house," and " wash-house," while on the east 
slope stood the "summer-house," and the "ice-house," 
built Avith its " spring-house " beneath. At the north 
gate stood the " spinning and weaving-houses." There 
were houses for itinerant tailors and shoemakers, who 
made semi-annual sojourns at the large plantations. 
Mrs. Ida Slocombe Richardson, Vice-Regent for Loui- 
siana, on behalf of her State, has restored the " sum- 
mer-house," which is now as it was in Washington's 
time. 

On the west, close to the kitchen, is the "butler's 
house," at the corner of which is the famous magnolia 
grandiflora, brought by Washington from the banks 
of the James, and planted by him in the year of his 
death, 1799. It has attained unusual proportions for 
the climate. The leaves of this tree have been taken 
as mementos to every part of the civilized globe. The 
west lawn, called by General Washington his " Bowling- 
Green," is entered through the arched gateway at the 
end of the avenue from the porter's lodge. The curved 
course serves not only for a general approach to the 



THE SUN-BTAL. 

In 1888 a sun-dial was placed in the centre of the 
west lawn, marking the site of the dial which was in- 
cluded in the plan, drawn hj Washington's own hand, 
of the garden and grounds. The dial is the gift of 
citizens of Rhode Island, and is of red Westerly gran- 
ite, the plate being of bronze, bearing the motto, 

" Horas non uiimero nisi serenas,''^ 

and this inscription : 

Erected A. D, 1888, 

BY CITIZENS OP EhODE IsLAND, 

IN PLACE OF 

THE DIAL WHICH STOOD HEEE 

IN THE TIME OP WASHINGTON. 

While digging for a foundation, according to the 
record of the probable location of the Washington 
dial, there was found about a foot from the spot se- 
lected, and just below the surface, the decayed stump 
of a wooden post, a foot and a half long — doubtless a 
fragment of that which supported the original dial. 

Following are the names of the subscribers : 

Prof. William Gammell, Mrs. William Gammell, 

Mr. Thomas P. I. Goddabd, Mrs. T. P. Shepaed, 

Mr. Henry J. Steere, Mr. Henry T. Beckwith, 

Miss Julia Bullock, Mrs. John Carter Brown, 

Mr. John Nicholas Brown, Mr. James Coats, 

Mrs. Henry G. Kussell. 



53 

house, but in former times, being more than half a- 
mile in circumference, it afforded distance for a pleas- 
ant ride. The thicket of trees on either side gave 
grateful shade, so that it was frequently used for the 
children or invalids of the household. The trees of the 
thicket were all selected by Washington, many of them 
having been planted by him when he was a young man. 
His interest in them was unceasing. They are hem- 
lock, Spanish chestnut, poplar, gum, mulberry, aspen, 
pine, beech, linden, mimosa, wild cherry, and Kentucky 
coffee tree, brought from that State by Thomas Jeffer- 
son, all now in a flourishing condition. 

On each side of the entrance is a large mound, a fa- 
vorite lawn ornament of that day ; on one of w^hich has 
recently been planted a slip from the Washington Elm 
at Cambridge, presented by Miss Longfellow. 

Through the gateway, Washington brought his fair 
bride to Mount Vernon ; and beneath the same arch, 
forty years afterw^ards, slowly filed the long train of 
mourners who attended his funeral. 

FLOWER GARDEN. 

On the right of the lawn is the flower garden ; on the 
left the vegetable garden. Both of these were flanked 
by large orchards. Four magnificent trees, each of its 
kind perfect, guard the entrance to the flower garden. 
Two are ash and two are poplar, or the American tulip 
tree. They were planted by Washington with exact 
measurement, and have in a century done wonderful 
credit to the early care he gave them. Immediately 



54 

within the flower garden are four very large calycan- 
thus trees, or sweet shrub. These were sent to Wash- 
ington by Thomas Jefferson as a great novelty of that 
day. When they were a generation old, John Augus- 
tine Washington named them after the four Presidents 
who, in rotation, succeeded his illustrious uncle — 
Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. The flower 
garden is bordered and divided by hedges of box 
{huxus suffriiticosa), preserved in the exact designs in 
which they were j^lanted by Washington. Some of 
them seem to have been intended for initials of names 
and others Masonic emblems. 

Bordering the main walk in this garden is a species 
of hydrangea, which was brought over by Lafayette 
in his visit in 1824, and by him planted in his old 
friend's garden. This came originally from the grave 
of Napoleon. It is a hardy, beautiful flowering 
shrub. 

The garden contains crape myrtles, shrub magnolias, 
century plants, intermixed with the simplest modest 
flowers, from daisy to lily. 

Large numbers of the rose called " Mary Washington" 
are yearly raised and readily sold ; some years as many as 
three hundred. This rose, a seedling raised by General 
Washington and named for his mother, is a dedicate tea- 
rose, and quite an acceptable souvenir to the visitor. At 
the end of the central walk is the greenhouse, which 
stands on the site of the original Washington conserva- 
tory, which was destroyed by fire December, 1835. On 
that disastrous night very few of the rare plants were 




^^' 



Mount Vernon Mansion, 1838. 
IVest Front. 



56 

saved, among them a large bearing lemon tree, a cen- 
tury plant, and a Sago palm. Of these now there only 
can be seen part of the body of the cherished old palm, 
though there is a hardy young growth from it. In the 
greenhouse the visitor has opportunity to select a re- 
membrance of Mount Vernon, and will have the satis- 
faction of knowing that the small sum expended for a 
bouquet or plant increases the income of the Associa- 
tion. The florist, Franklin A. Whelan, will promptly 
fill, by mail or express, all orders for flowers or plants 
from Mount Vernon. 

The Council of 1888 accepted the offer of the Vice- 
Regent for Kansas to restore the old " servants^ 
quarters" beyond the greenhouse. 

SOURCES OF REVENUE. 

The entrance fee is the chief source of revenue to the 
Association, and is embraced in, the fare paid for the trip 
to and from Mount Vernon. A like small amount is re- 
quired from those who enter the west lawn, or either side, 
by land. The sale of photographic views, of the "Vis- 
itor's Guide," of plants, flowers, and canes, and of copies 
of the "Will of Washiugton" — each add something to 
the annual income. The original will, which was writ- 
ten entirely by himself, and bears his autograph at the 
bottom of each page, can now be seen among the 
records of the County Court of Fairfax. 

This will is dated July 9, 1799, and was doul)tless 
written in the summer of that year. It was drawn 
without the aid of a lawyer, and is one of the most re- 



57 

markable papers of its kind on record. It was admitted 
to probate in the county of Fairfax, January 20, 1800, 
being presented in open court by three of the executors. 
On March 22, 1853, the Virginia legislature granted to 
xllfred Moss, county clerk, the privilege of lithograph- 
ing the will, but for some reason he never carried out 
his design. In July, 1861, when the Confederate army 
retreated from Fairfax Court-house, Mr. Moss carefully 
enveloped the will, with this indorsement: 

" The original will of General George Washington. 
" Belongs to the records of Fairfax County Court. To be re- 
turned to me, or any one legally authorized to receive it. 

"ALFKED MOSS, 
" Clerk Fairfax County Court.'' 

With other county records it was then sent to Rich- 
mond and committed to the secretary of the Common- 
wealth, in whose care it remained until 1865, when it 
was returned to Fairfax county. From age and fre- 
quent handling it has become indistinct and mutilated, 
and on account of its condition the court at its Novem- 
ber term, 1865, passed the following order : " It ap- 
pearing to the court that the original will of General 
George Washington, of Mount Vernon, has been much 
worn and mutilated from frequent handling, and that 
it is liable to further injury from the same cause, it is 
ordered that the clerk of this court purchase, at the 
expense of the county, a suitable case, in which he is 
directed to deposit the said will." This arrangement 
gives the curious the opportunity— which is often im- 



58 

proved — of seeing the last will and testament of 
Washington. 

In 1868 the will was copied and published, as it was 
too much worn to admit of its being lithographed, and 
thousands of these authenticated copies were given to 
the Association by the late W. W. Corcoran. To this 
pamphlet, which contains many interesting historical 
facts, I am indebted for the above data. 

Lossing's handsome volume, " The Home of Wash- 
inglon,'' can be bought here. This work is gracefully 
dedicated by the author : 

"To HIS 

Patriotic Countrywomen, 

BY whose EFFORTS 

The Home and Tomb of Washington 

have been rescued from 

Decay." 

Many little incidents detailed in its pages give the 
domestic character of Washington, and its concise 
descriptions of the manners and customs of a century 
ago are clear and life-like. 

The original " Act to authorize the purchase of 
Mount Vernon " passed the Virginia legislature unan- 
imously March 17th, 1856, and the amount paid for the 
estate of two hundred acres was two hundred thousand 
dollars, with six per cent, interest from the time of the 
first payment. 

Of this sum '$68,494.59 were a contribution from 
Edward Everett, the proceeds of his great lecture upon 
the " Life and Character of Washington," and his writ- 
ings for the Nev^ York Ledger. 



59 

Many interesting papers, letters, and documents are 
accumulating at Mount Vernon, and aftbrd glimpses of 
the domestic life, as well as of the historical events, of 
Washington's time. 

Mrs. Mar}' Starling Payne, of Hopkinsville, Ken- 
tucky, has presented letters from Nellie Custis and her 
husband, Lawrence Lewis ; from Major George W. 
Lewis, and from Bushrod Washington, together with 
a very interesting receipt for horses impressed into ser- 
vice for the transportation of the baggage and artillery 
of the Marquis de Lafayette. The horses were im- 
pressed from Fielding Lewis, and the receipt is signed 
by James Monroe, as quartermaster. 

In 1888, Messrs. L. and D. Ruben, of Alexandria, 
Virginia, presented a large collection of letters and 
miscellaneous papers. 

In 1887, Mr. Jay Gould, of New York, made a very 
generous gift to the Association of thirty-three and 
one-half acres of land adjoining the northeastern line 
of the original purchase. This land, partially wooded, 
and with a half mile of river front, has long been re- 
garded as valuable to the estate, as its acquisition 
would permit the removal of the boundary on that side 
to a greater distance from the Mansion. W^hen Mr. 
Gould visited Mount Vernon in June, 1887, he was 
much impressed by the account given of this matter by 
the Superintendent, and instructed him to take all the 
steps necessary- for the purchase of the lot, and its 
presentation to the Association in his name*. For this 
welcome addition to the Mount Vernon domain, Mr. 



60 

Gould paid the handsome sum of j§2,500. His kind- 
ness will be kept in continual remembrance, for this 
land is to be always designated as " The Jay Gould 
Gift." 

Among late restorations are the repairing of the 
wharf, in 1886, at a cost of about $1,600 ; the re-roof- 
ing of the old barn, which was last repaired under the 
direction of Washington, in 1799 ; the restoration of the 
mason-work at the east and west entrances ; the por- 
ters' lodges, and the gates. 

THE COUNCIL, 
consisting of the Begent and Vice-Regents, meets 
yearly in May or June at Mount Vernon, to transact all 
business connected with the estate, such as auditing 
accounts, making contracts, ordering repairs, receiving 
the report of the Superintendent and Treasurer. 

MOUNT VERNON 8 FUTURE. 
Doubtless the pilgrimage to Mount Vernon is yet 
in its incipient state. As the old homestead recovers 
from its long neglect; as intended restorations and 
suggested repairs are yearly made ; as the contribu- 
tions of interesting relics increase — so will the spot, 
more than any other sacred with the memories of 
Washington, become dearer to the people of this country. 

" There dwelt the man, the flower of human kind, 
Whose visage mild bespeaks his nobler mind ; 
There dwelt the soldier, who his sword ne'er drew 
But in a righteous cause — to freedom tri;e. 
There dwelt the hero, who, devoid of art, 
Gave sagest counsels from an upright heart. 



61 

And O, Columbia I by thy sous caressed, 
There dwells the Father of the realm he bless'd, 
Who no wish felt to make his mighty praise, 
Like other chiefs, the means himself to raise ; 
But there retiring, breathed the pure renown, 
And felt a grandeur that disdained a crowns 

During the Centeimial year, 1876, the number of 
visitors was forty-five thousand — from two hundred 
to nine hundred per diem. 

Although the sentiment prompting by far the larger 
number to visit the home and tomb of Washington is 
that of I'everential admiration for the chieftain's life 
and character, yet this class of visitors are occasionally 
shocked by the out-spoken, would-be witty utterances 
of the thoughtless and the coarse, even upon a spot 
that should, at least, command respectful observance. 

Some persons, in their eagerness for relics, have 
knocked off the stucco ornaments of the walls, broken 
the frames of the old mirrors, and injured rare shrub- 
bery which has been imported and presented to the 
Association at a large expense. A fine of five dollars 
is now rigidly enforced upon any person found defac- 
ing the building. 

A little reflection would induce visitors to be more 
considerate of those attached to .the estate who, they 
may be assured, desire to be obliging and kind to all. 

Every American citizen should feel a personal care 
of what is a national heritage, and look upon whoever 
wears a Mount Vernon badge as commissioned to 
guard this possession. 

The Council, at their meeting in 1878, authorized 



62 

the adoption of a uniform for the employes, con- 
sisting of a navy-blue blouse, with brass buttons, 
leather belt and buckle, and a black hat with the name 
Mount Yernon in gilt letters on a blue ribbon band, 

THE TOLLING BELL 

of each passing steamer, as it reverberates from hill to 
hill, but re-echoes the voice of all ages and all people 
in doing honor to such greatness as is found in the life 
of George Washington. 

" Slowly sailing, slowly sailing, hushed the iijusic, mute the 
mirth, 

Men and maidens standing reverent as on some broad altar's 
hearth. 

iS ***** * 

" Silently before Mount Vernon, silently our boat glides on, 

Hushed its iron heart's deep panting past the Tomb of "Wash- 
ington ; 

Truest, worthiest act of worship that degenerate earth now 
knows, 

Inmost soul here recognizing all the mighty debt she owes. 

" Oh, my country, art thou paling — losing all thy young days 
glow? 

Can'st thou lose thy first love's glory, and thy hero's worth still 
know ? 

Patriot hearts, do doubts still haunt you, threatening thoughts 
come crowding on ? 

Sail with me down broad Potomac, past the Tomb of Wash- 
ington ; 

"Feel the impress of his greatness stamped upon the Nation's 
heart. 
See each manly brow uncovered, lovely lips in awe apart; 



63 

Fear not while this reverence lingers with its clear, warm, 
hallowing light ; 

This must fade from brow and bosom ere can come our coun- 
try's night." 

[Mrs. J\. Gary Long, Literary ll''or/(i. Fed. 17, 1S49. 

This expression of respect was first given by the com- 
mander of an English fleet — Commodore Gordon — who, 
when passing Mount Vernon on the 24:th of August, 
1814, ordered that the bell of his flag-ship, Sea-Horse, 
should be tolled. Human greatness never received a 
higher recognition than this act of reverence. Our 
own countrymen are less demonstrative than foreign- 
ers, who are never seen with covered heads before the 
Tomb of Washington. 

THANKS. 

To "The Southern Matron," and "The Northern 
Orator," first belong thanks unceasing for the purchase 
and care of the home and tomb of Washington. To 
the Kegents and Vice-Regents for their unflagging en- 
ergy and devotion is due a second and increasing debt 
of grateful approval. 




View of Fort Washington from the Piazza at Mount Vernon. 



65 

KELICS. 

General "Wasliiugton's Silver-Hilted Dress Sword, with the 
name of John Clark on the hand-guard, and a silver -mounted 
Eussian-leather scabbard. 

Three Autograph Letters of General Washington ; one 
written to Governor Trumbull, of Conn., 1702, in which the 
approaching marriage of Nellie Custis is annoncced. 

Masonic Apron worn by Lafayette, donated by Dr. Lloyd 
Dorsey, Md, 

Cabinet Plaster Medallion of Washington, presented by 
Mrs. Ella Barrett, Washington. 

Pin-Cushion, made of pieces of Mrs. Washington's wedding 
dress. 

Box, containing one of the handles and a brass hinge with 
tacks, to which is attached a portion of the outer covering of the 
exterior coffin of General Washington. Upon the removal of 
the remains to the new vault, by Colonel George C. Washington 
and John S. Washington, Esq., these relics dropped, and were 
picked up by Colonel Washington and given to his son Lewis W. 
Washington, 1854. 

PiN-CusHioN, made from the dress worn by Mrs. Washington 
at her last official levee. 

English Flags, presented by General U. S. Grant. 

Eeench Scrip, 1792, worth half franc. 

Stalk from original Sago Palm, Mount Vernon Green-house. 

One of the Vernon Medals, struck in commemoration of the 
■capture of Porto Bello, which was found June 5th, 1876, in the 
garden. Presented to the Ladies' Association by Elias S. Eeed, 
of Dover, Delaware. 

An Engraved Portrait of Admiral Vernon, presented through 
the late Hon. Wm. Thomson, U. S. Consul at Southampton. 

The portrait is after a painting by T. Bardwell, and bears the 
following inscription : 

"The Honorable Edward Vernon, Esq., Vice-Admiral of the 
^' Blue. Commander-in-Chief of aU his Majesty's ships in the 
" West Indies." 

' ' To the Eight Honorable Lord Mayor, the Court of Aldermen, 
^' and ye Common Council cf ye City of London, this plate is 
■' ' humbly dedicated by their most obedient servant, John Taber.'* 



66 

Needle Book used by General Washington at Valley Forge. 
Given by Mrs. Washington to Mrs. Commodore Barry, who gave 
it to Deborah Adams ; she presented it to Mrs. George Hill, of 
Philadelphia, who donated it to Mount Vernon through Mrs. 
Comegys, Vice-Regent of Delaware, 1877. 

Cane Head made of wood from the elm tree under which the 
treaty with the Indians was signed by Wm. Penn. Presented 
by Wm. L. Shoemaker, of Georgetown, D. C. 

Compass used by Washington. Presented by his great-nephew 
Judge C. W. Bell, of Virginia. 

Suit op Black Velvet, worn by Washington when he deliv- 
ered his Farewell Address, and was in mourning for his mother. 
Deposited in this case by Mrs. Charles T. Michel, grand-niece of 
General Washington. 

Suit of Beown Cloth, General Washington's. 

Bust of Washington, in plaster. 

Two PAiKS of Long Stockings belonging to Washington. 

Washington's Compass and Tkipod, used in his youth when 
surveying. 

Six Water-Buckets, with name " George Wafhington," 
printed on them in large letters. 

Stibeup from Mrs. Washington's saddle. 

Several yards of deep fringe netted by the wife of President 
Madison. 

Pen and Dagger in Leather Case. The pen was used in 
signing the contract of the purchase of Mount Vernon by the 
Ladies of the Association. Both presented to the first Regent by 
her physician. Dr. Hugh L. Hoge, of Philadelphia. 

Original Draft of the Constitution of the " Ladies' Mount 
Vernon Association." Addressed "To the Hon. Edward Everett, 
Boston, Mass." 

Etc., etc., etc. 

The Laege Globe by the case was used by Washington. 

Upon inquiry, numbers of " The Mount Vernon Record " may 
be obtained, which should be read throughout the country, that 
the people may duly comprehend the efforts of the earnest 
women who have secured Mount Vernon, and who preserve it 
forever sacred to the memory of Washington. 



67 



OF'FIOERS OF THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION. 

REGENT. 

Mrs. Lily L. Macalester Laughton, WasbingtoD, D. C, 
,nd " Torrisdale," Pbila., Pa. 

VICE-REGENTS. 

Alabama : 

Ai'kansas : 

California : 

Connecticut : Mrs. Susan E. J. Hudson. 

Delaware : Miss Harriet Clayton Comegys. 

District of Columbia : Mrs. Mary T. Barnes. 

Florida : Mrs. Fanny G. Baker. 

Georgia : Mrs. Pbiloclea Edgewortb Eve. 

Illinois : Mrs. Mary Leiter. 

Indiana : 

Iowa: 

Kansas : Mi's. J. M. Ward. 

Kentucky : Mrs. E. H. Woodward. 

Louisiana : Mrs. Ida Slocombe Eicbardson. 

Maine : Mrs. Margaret J. M. Sweat. 

Maryland : Miss Emily Harper. 

Massachusetts : Miss Alice Longfellow. 

Micbigan: Mrs. Elizabeth Katbbone. 

Mississippi : 

Missouri ; 

New Jersey : Mrs. Nancy W. Halsted. 

New York : Mrs. Justine Van Rensselaer Town send. 

North Carolina : Mrs. Letitia Morehead Walker. 



68 

Ohio : Mrs. Elizabeth Lytle Broadwell. 

Ehode Island : Mrs. Abby Wheaton Chace. 

South Carolina; Mrs. Lucy Holcomb Pickens 

Tennessee : 

Texas : 

Vermont : Mrs. Cornelius Lowe King. 

Virginia : Mrs. Emma Kead Ball. 

West Virginia : Mrs. Ella Bassett Washington. 

Wisconsin : Mrs. Martha Mitchell. 

RESIDENT SECRETARY AND SUPERINTENDENT. 

Mr. Harrison H. Dodge. 

TREASURER. 

Mr. E. Francis Biggs, Washington, D. C. 

ADVISORY BOARD. 

District of Columbia : Mr. Justice Field, James C. 
Welling LL. D. 

Delaware : Judge Joseph P. Comegys. 
Georgia: Col. C. C. Jones. 
New Jersey : Dr. Thomas M. McCarter. 
Virginia : Hon. John S. Barbour. 



Post Office Established at Mt. Vernon in 1878. 



WASHINGTON'S LIBRARY. 



The vacaut shelves seem to suggest Mount Vernon as the 
proper place for the Washington library ; or that, so far as pos. 
sible, copies of the old volumes shall be collected and deposited 
here. 

The following is a list of the books in the Mount Vernon Li- 
brary, taken from the inventory of "Washington's personal prop- 
erty, made after Ms death by the appraisers api^ointed by order 
of Court. Certain of the titles, being manifestly inaccurate, 
have been corrected, and the amounts at which they were ap- 
praised have been omitted. Of the 863 volumes named, (pam- 
phlets, magazines, and maps not included,) 444 and several hun- 
dred pamphlets were purchased in 1848 for f 5,000 for the Boston 
Athenaeum, that amount having been collected by subscription 
at the instance of Jared Sparks and Andrews Norton. They 
form a distinct division of the Library of that Institution. 

Miller's Tracts, i vol., 8vo. 
Rowley's Works, 4 vols. 
Robertson's Charles V., 4 vols. 



American Encyclopaedia, 18 vols., 410. 
Skombrand's Dictionary, i vol. 
Memoir of a Map Hindostan, i vol., 

4to. 
Young's Travels, i vol. 
Johnson's Dictionary, 2 vols. 
Guthrie's Geography, 2 vols. 
Principles of Taxation, i vol. 
Luzac's Oration, i vol. 
Mawe's Gardener, i vol. 
Jeffries's Aerial Voyage, i vol. 
Beacon Hill, i vol. 
Memoirs of the American Academy, 

(one of which is a Pamphlet,) 2 

vols. 
Duhamel's Husbandry, i vol. 
Langley on Gardening, i vol. 
Price's Carpenter, i vol. 
Count de Grasse, i vol. 
Miller's Gardener's Dictionary, i vol. 
Gibson's Diseases of Horses, i vol. 
Rumford's Essays. 



Gordon's History of America, 4 vols. 
Gibbon's Roman Empire, 6 vols. 
Stanyan's Grecian History, 2 vols. 
Adam's Rome, 2 vols. 
Anderson's Institute, i vol. 
Robertson's America, 2 vols. 
Ossian's Poems, i vol. 
Humphreys's Works, i vol. 
King of Prussia's Works, 13 vols. 
Gillies's Frederick, i vol. 
Goldsmith's Natural History, 8 vols 
Locke on Understanding, 2 vols. 
Shipley's Works, 2 vols. 
Buffon's Natural History, abridged, 

2 vols. 
Ramsay's History, 2 vols. 
The Bee, (13th vol. missing,) 18 vols 
Sully's Memoirs, 6 vols. 
Fletcher's Appeal, i vol. 



70 



History of Spain, 2 vols.,.8vo. 

Jortin's Sermons, 2 vols. 

Chapman on Education, 1 vol. 

Smith's Wealth of Nations, 3 vols. 

History of Louisiana, 2 vols. 

Warren's Poems, i vol. 

Junius's Letters, i vol. 

City Addresses, i vol. 

Conquest of Canaan, i vol. 

Shakspeare's Works, i vol. 

Antidote to Deism, 2 vols. 

Memoirs of 2500, i vol. 

Forest's Voyage, i vol., 4to. 

Don Quixote, 4 vols. 

Ferguson's Roman History, 3 vols. 

Watson's History of Philip IL, i vol. 

Barclay's Apology, i vol. 

Uniform of the Forces of Great Britain 

in 1742, I vol.* 
Otway's Art of War, i vol. 
Political States of Europe, 8 vols. , Bvo. 
Winchester's Lectures, 4 vols. 
Principles of Hj'draulics, 2 vols. 
Leigh on Opium, i vol., 8vo. 
Heath's Memoirs, i vol. 
American Museum, 10 vols. 
Vertot's Rome, 2 vols. 
Harte's Gustavus, <2 vols. 
Moore's Navigation, i vol. 
Graham on Education, i vol. 
History of the Mission among the 

Indians in North America, i vol. 
French Constitution, i vol. 
Winthrop's Journal, i vol. 
American Magazine, i vol., Bvo. 
Watts's Views, i vol., 4to. 
History of Marshal Turenne, 2 vols., 

Bvo. 

* This work, executed by John 
Pine, was presented to Washington 
by the engraver's son, Robt. Edge 
Pine. It is now in the New York 
State Library at Albany. 



Ramsay's Revolution of South Caro- 
lina, 2 vols. 

History of Quadrupeds, i vol. 

Carver's Travels, i vol. 

Moore's Italy, 2 vols. 

Moore's France, 2 vols. 

Chastellux's Travels, i vol. 

Chastellux's Voyages, i vol. 

Volney's Travels, 2 vols. 

Volney's Ruins, i vol. 

Warville's Voyage, in French, 3 vols. 

Warville on the Relation of France 
to the U. States. 

Miscellanies, i vol., 4to. 

Fulton on Small Canals and Iron 
Bridges, i vol. 

Liberty, a Poem, i vol. 

Hazard's Collection of State Papers, 
2 vols. 

Young's Travels, 2 vols. 

West's Discourse, i vol. 

A Statement of the Representation of 
England and Wales, i vol. 

Miscellanies, 2 vols. 

Political Pieces, i vol. 

Treaties, i vol. 

Annual Register for 1781, i vol., Bvo. 

Masonic Constitution, i vol., 4to. 

Smith's Constitutions, i vol. 

Preston's Poems, 2 vols. 

History of the United States, 1796, 
I vol., Bvo. 

Parliamentary Debates, 12 vols. 

Mair's Book-keeping, i vol. 

Proceedings of the East India Com- 
pany, I vol., folio. 

Ladies' Magazine, 2 vols., Bvo. 
Parliamentary Register, 7 vols. 
Pryor's [Prior] Documents, 2 vols. 
Remembrancer, 6 vols. 

European Magazine, 2 vols. 

Columbian Magazine, 5 vols. 

American Magazine, i vol. 



71 



New York Magazine, i vol. 

Christian's Magazine, i vol. 

Walker on Magnetism, i vol. 

Monroe's View of the Executive, 
I vol. 

Massachusetts Magazine, 2 vols. 

A Five Minutes' Answer to Paine's 
Letter to General Washington, 
I vol. 

Political Tracts, 2 vols. 

Proceedings on Parliamentary Re- 
form, I vol. 

Poems on Various Subjects, i vol. 

Plays, &c., I vol. 

Annual Register, 3 vols. 

Botanico-Medical Dissertation, i vol. 

Oracle of Liberty, i vol. 

Cadmus, 1 vol. 

Doctrine of Projectiles, i vol. 

Patricius the Utilist, i vol., 8vo. 

Ahiman Rezon, i vol. 

Sharp on the Prophecies, i vol. 

Minto on Planets, i vol. 

Sharp on the English Tongue, i*vol. 

Sharp on Limitation of Slavery, i vol. 

Sharp on the People's Rights, i vol. 

Sharp's Remarks, i vol. 

National Defence, i vol. 

Sharp's Free Militia, i vol. 

Sharp on Congressional Courts, i vol. 

Ahiman Rezon, i vol. 

Vision of Columbus, i vol. 

Wilson's Lectures, i vol. 

The Contrast, a Comedy, i vol. 

Sharp, An Appendix on Slavery, i vol. 

Muir's Trial, i vol. 

End of Time, i vol. 

Erskine's View of the War, i vol. 

Political Magazine, 3 vols. 

The Law of Nature, i vol., i2mo. 

Washington's Legacy, i vol. 

Political Tracts, i vol., 8vo. 



America, i vol. 

Proofs of a Conspiracy, i vol. 

Mackintosh's Defence, i vol. 

Mirabeau, i vol. 

Virginia Journal, i vol., 4to. 

Miscellanies, i vol., 8vo. 

Poems, &c., I vol., 4to. 

Morse's Geography, i vol., Svo. 

Messages, i vol. 

History of Ireland, 2 vols. 

Harte's Works, i vol. 

Political Pamphlets, i vol. 

Burns's Poems, i vol. 

Political Tracts, i vol. 

Miscellanies, i vol. 

Higgins on Cements, i vol. 

Repository, 2 vols. 

Reign of George IIL. i vol. 

Political Tracts, i vol. 

Tar Water, i vol. 

Minot's History, i vol. 

Mease on the Bite of a Mad Dog, i vol. 

Political Tracts, i vol. 

Reports, i vol. 

Revolution of France, i vol. 

Essaj' on Property, i vol. 

Sir Henry Clinton's Narrative, i vol. 

Lord North's Administration, i vol. 

Lloyd's Rhapsody, i vol. 

Tracts, i vol. 

Inland Navigation, i vol. 

Chesterfield's Letters, i vol. 

Smith's Constitutions, i vol., 410. 

Morse's Geography, 2 vols., Svo. 

Belknap's American Biography, 
2 vols. 

Belknap's History of New Hamp- 
shire, I vol. 

Belknap's History of New Hamp- 
shire, 3 vols. 

Minot's History of Massachusetts, 
I vol. 



72 



Jenkinson's Collection of Treaties, 
3 vols. 

District of Maine, i vol., 8vo. 

Gulliver's Travels, 2 vols. 

Tracts on Slavery, i vol. 

Priestley's Evidences, i vol. 

Life of Buncle, 2 vols. 

Webster's Essays, i vol. 

Bartram's Travels, i vol. 

Bossu's Travels, 2 vols. 

Situation of America, i vol. 

Jefferson's Notc;s, i vol. 

Coxa's View, i vol. 

Ossian's Poems, i vol. 

Adams on Globes, i vol. 

Pike's Arithmetic, i vol. 

Barnaby's Sermons and Travels, 
I vol. 

Champion on Commerce, i vol. 

Brown's Bible, i vol. fol. 

Bishop Wilson's Bible, 3 vols. 

Bishop Wilson's Works, i vol. 

Laws of New York, 2 vols. 

Laws of Virginia, 2 vols. 

Middleton's Architecture, i vol. 

Miller's Naval Architecture, i vol. 

The Senator's Remembrancer, i vol. 

The Origin of the Tribes or Nations 
in America, i vol. 8vo. Barton. 

A Treatise on the Principles of Com- 
merce between Nations, i vol. 

Annual Register, i vol. 

General Washington's Letters, 2 vols. 

Insurrection, i vol. 

American Remembrancer, 3 vols. 

Epistles for the Ladies, i vol. 

Discourses upon Common Prayer, 
I vol. 

The Trial of the Seven Bishops, 
I vol. 8vo. 

Lebroune's Surveyor, I'vol. folio. 

Sharp's Sermons, i vol. 8vo. 



Muir's Discourses, i vol. 

Emblems Divine and Moral, i voi 

Yorick's Sermons, 2 vols. 

D'lvernois on Agriculture, Colonies 
and Commerce, i vol. 

Pocket Dictionary, i vol. 

Prayer Book, i vol. 

Royal English Grammar, i vol. 

Principles of Trade Compared, i vot- 

Dr. Morse's Sermon, i vol. 

Duche's Sermon, 1775, i vol. 

Sermons, i vol. 

Embassy to China, i vol. 

Warren's Poems, i vol. 

Sermons, i vol. 

Humphrey Clinker, i vol. 

Poems, I vol. 

Swift's Works, i vol. 

History ofa Foundling, (3d vol. want- 
ing,) 3 vols. 

Adventures of Talemachus, 2 vols. 

Nature Displayed, i vol. 

Solymon and Almenia, i vol. 

Plays, I vol. 

The High German Doctor, i vol. 

Benezet's Discourse, i vol. 

Life and Death of the Earl of Roch- 
ester, I vol. 

Journal of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, 9 vols. fol. 

Laws of the United States, 7 vols. 

Revised Laws of Virginia, i vol. 

Acts of Virginia Assembly, 5 vols. 

Cruttwell's Concordance, i vol. 

Dallas's Reports, i vol. 8vo. 

Swift's System, 2 vols. 

Journals of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, 3 vols. 

State Papers, i vol. 

Burns' Justice, 4 vols. 

Marten's Law of Nations, i vol. 

Views of the British Customs, i vol. 



73 



Debates of Congress, 3 vols. 

Journals of Congress, 13 vols.* 

Laws of the United States, 3 vols. 

Kirby's Reports, i vol. 

Virginia Justice, i vol. 

Virginia Laws, i vol. 

Dogge on Criminal Law, 3 vols. 

Laws of the United States, 2 vols. 

Debates of the State of Massachusetts 
on the Constitution, i vol. 

Sharp on the Law of Nature, i vol. 

Sharp on the Law of Retribution, 
I vol. 

Sharp on Libels and Juries, i vol. 

Acts of Congress, i vol. 

Debates of the Convention of Vir- 
ginia, I vol. 

The Landlord's Law, i vol., i2mo. 

Attorney's Pocket-book, 2 vols., 8vo. 

President's Messages, i vol. 

Jay's Treaty, i vol. 

Debates of the Convention of Massa- 
chusetts, I vol. 

Law against Bankrupts, i vol. 

Debates in the Convention of Penn- 
sylvania, I vol. 

Debates in the Convention of Vir- 
ginia, I vol. 

Debates in the House of Representa- 
tives of the United States with re- 
spect to their power on Treaties, 
I vol. 

Sundry Pamphlets containing Mes- 
sages from the President to Con- 
gress, &c. 

Orations, i vol., 4to. 

Gospel News, i vol., 8vo. 

Mosaical Creation, i vol., 8vo. 
■Original and Present State of Man, 
I vol. 

* In the Library of the Department 
of State, Washington. 



Sermons, 2 vols. 

Political Sermons, 3 vols. 

Miscellanies, i vol. 

Ray on the Wisdom of God in Crea- 
tion, I vol. 

Orations, i vol. 

Medical Tracts, 2 vols. 

Masonic Sermons, i vol. 

Miscellanies, i vol. 

Backus's History, i vol. 

Sick Man Visited, i vol. 

State of Man, i vol 

Churchill's Sermon, i vol. 

Account of the Protestant Church, 
I vol. 

Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Ar- 
ticles, I vol. 

Dodington's Diary, i vol. 

Daveies' Cavalry', i vol. 

Simms's Military Course, i vol. 

Gentleman's Magazine, 3 vols. 

Library Catalogue, i vol. 

Transactions of the Royal Humane 
Society, i vol. 

Zimmermann's Survey, i vol. 

History of Barbary, i vol. 

Anson's Voyage round the World, 
I vol. 

Horseman and P'arrier, i vol. 

Gordon's Geography, i vol. 

Kentuckj', i vol. 

History of Virginia, i vol. 

American Revolution, i vol. 

Cincinnati, i vol. 

Political Tracts, i vol. 

Remarks on the Encroachment of 
the River Thames, i vol. 

Sharp on Crown Law, i vol., 8vo. 

Common Sense, &c., i vol. 

Hardy's Tables, i vol. 

Beauties of Sterne, i vol. 

Peregrine Pickle, 3 vols. 



74 



McFingal, i vol. 

Memoirs of the Noted Buckhorse, 
2 vols. 

Jdyssey, (Pope's translation of Ho- 
mer,) 5 vols. 

Miscellanies, 3 vols. 

Fitzosborne's Letters, i vol. 

Voltaire's Letters, i vol. 

Guardian, 2 vols. 

Beauties of Swift, i vol. 

The Gleaner, 3 vols. 

Lee's Memoirs, i vol. 

The Universalist, i vol. 

Chesterfield's Letters, 4 vols. 

Louis XV., 4 vols. 

Bentham's Panoption, 3 vols. 

Reason, &.C., 1 vol. 

Tour through Great Britain, 4 vols. 

Female Fortune-Hunter, 3 vols. 

The Supposed Daughter, 3 vols. 

Gil Bias, 4 vols. 

Columbian Grammar, i vol. 

Frazier's Assistant, i vol. 

Review of Cromwell's Life, i vol. 

Seneca's Mor Is, i vol. 

Travels of Cyrus, i voi. 

Miscellanies, i vol 

Charles XIL, i vol. 

Emma Corbet, (the 2d vol. wanting,) 
2 vols. 

Pope's Works, 6 vols., i2mo. 

Foresters, i vol. 

Adams's Defence, i vol., 8vo. 

Butler's Hudibras, i vol. 

Spectator, 6 vols. 

New Crusoe, i vol. 

Philadelphia Gazette, i vol., fol. 

Pennsylvania Packet, 2 vols. 

Gazette of the United States, 10 vols. 

Atlas to Guthrie's Geography, i vol. 

Moll' Atlas, I vol. 

West India Atlas, i vol. 



General Geographer, i vol. 

Atlas of North America, i vol. 

Manoeuvres, 1 vol., 8vo. 

Military Instructions, i vol. 

Count Saxe's Plan for New-modelling 
the French Army, i vol. 

Military Discipline, i vol., 4to. 

Prussian Evolutions, i vol. 

Code of Military Standing Resolu- 
tions, 2 vols. 

Field Engineer, i vol., 8vo. 

Army List, i vol. 

Prussian Evolutions, i vol., 4to. 

Leblond's Engineer, 2 vols., 8vo. 

MuUer on Fortification, i vol. 

Essays on Field Artillery, by Ander- 
son, I vol. 

A System of Camp Discipline, i vol. 

Essay on the Art of War, i vol. 

Treatise of Military Discipline, i vol. 

List of Military Officers, British and 
Irish, in 1777, i vol. 

Vallancey on Fortification, i vol. 

Muller on Artillery, i vol. 

Muller on Fortification, i vol. 

Militia, i vol., 8vo. 

American Atlas, i vol., fol. 

Steuben's Regulations, i vol., 8vo. 

Traite de I avalerie, i vol,, fol. 

Truxton on Latitude and Longitude, 
I vol. 

Ordinances of the King, i vol. 

Magnetic Atlas, i vol. 

Roads through England, i vol., 8vo. 

Carey's War Atlas, i vol., fol. 

Caller's Survey of Roads, i vol., 
8vo. 

Military Institutions for Officers, 
I vol. 

Norfolk Exercise, i vol. 

Advice of Officers of the British 
Army, i vol. 



75 



Webb's Treatise on the Appoint- 
ments of the Army, i vol. 

Acts of the Parliament respecting 
Militia, i vol. 

The Partisan, i vol. 

Anderson on Artillery, (in French,) 

1 vol. 

List of Officers under Sir William 
Howe in America, i vol. 

The Military Guide, i vol. 

The Duties of Soldiers in General, 
3 vols. 

Young's Tour, 2 vols. 

Young on Agriculture, (17 vols., full 
bound, 8 half bound, and i pam- 
phlet,) 26 vols. 

Anderson on Agriculture, (1 vol., full 
bound, the others in boards,) 4 
vols. 

Lisle's Observations on Husbandry, 

2 vols. 

Museum Rusticum, 6 vols. 
Marshall's Rural Ornament, 2 vols. 
Barlow's Husbandry, 2 vols. 
Kennedy on Gardening, 2 vols. 
Hale on Husbandry, 4 vols. 
Sentimental Magazine, 5 vols. 
Price on the Picturesque, 2 vols. 
Agriculture, 2 vols. 
Miller's Gardener's Calendar, i vol. 
Rural Economy, i vol., 8vo. 
Agricultural Inquiries, i vol. 
Maxwell's Practical Husbandry, i v. 
Boswell on Meadows, i vol. 
Gentleman Farmer, i vol. 
Practical Farmer, i vol. 
Millwright and Miller's Guide, i vol. 
Bordley on Husbandry, i vol. 
Sketches and Inquiries, i vol. 
Farmer's Complete Guide, i vol. 
The Solitary, or Carthusian Gar- 
dener, I vol. 



Homer's Illiad by Pope, (first two 

vols, wanting,) 4 vols. 
Don Quixote, 4 vols. 
Federalist, 2 vols. 
The World Displayed, (13th vol. 

wanting,) ig vols., i2mo. 
Search's Essays, 2 vols., Svo. 
Freneau's Poems, i vol. 
Cattle Doctor, t vol. 
Stephens's Directory, 1 vol. 
New System of Agriculture, 1 vol. 
Columbus's Discovery, i vol. 
Moore's Travels, 5 vols. 
Agricultural Society of New York, 

I vol., 4to. 
Transactions of the Agricultural So- 
ciety of New York, i vol. 
Annals of Agriculture, i vol. 
Dundonald's Connection between Ag 

riculture and Chemistry, i vol. • 
Labors in Husbandry, i vol. 
Account of Different Kind of Sheep. 

I vol., Svo. 
The Hothouse Gardener, i vol. 
Historical Memoirs of Frederick II., 

3 vols. 
Treatise of Peat Moss, i vol. 
Treatise on Bogs and Swampy 

Grounds, i vol. 
Complete Farmer, i vol., fol. 

Pamphlets — 
Reports of the National Agricultural 

Society of Great Britain, 100 

Nos., 4to. 
Massachusetts Magazine, 41 vols. 

Svo. 
New York Magazine, 38 vols. 
London Magazine, 18 vols. 
Political Magazine, 8 vols. 
Universal Asylum, 9 vols. 
Universal Magazine, 11 vols. 
Country Magazine, 15 vols. 



76 



Monthly and Critical Reviews, ii 
vols. 

Gentleman's Magazine, 8 vols. 

Congressional Register, 9 vols. 

Miscellaneous Magazine, 27 vols. 

Tom Paine's Rights of Man, 43 vols. 

Miscellaneous Magazine, 27 vols. 
Books — 

Hazard's Collection of State Papers, 
2 vols., 4to. 

Morse's American Gazetter, i vol., 
8vo. , 

Annals of Agriculture, (20 and 21,) 
2 vols. 

On the American Revolution, i vol. 

15 Pamphlets, Annals of Agricul- 
ture. 

Judge Peters on Plaster of Paris, 
I vol. 

Belknap's Biography, i vol. 

American Remembrancer, i vol. 

Federalist, 2 vols. 

A Pamphlet, The Debate of Parlia- 
ment on the Articles of Peace, 
I vol. 

History of the American War in 17 
pamphlets. 

Miscellaneous Pamphlets, 26 Nos. 

Washington, a Poem. 

Alfieri,Bruto Primo, Italian Tragedy. 

Fragment of Politics and Literature, 
by Mandrillon, (in French,) i vol., 
Bvo. 

Revolution of France and Geneva, 
(in French,) 2 vols. 

History of the Administration of the 
Finances of the French Repub- 
lic, I vol. 

History of the French Administra- 
tion, I vol. 

The Social Compact, (in French,) 
I vol. 



Chastellux's Travels in North Amer- 
ica, (in French,) 2 vols., 8vo. 

I Pamphlet, Of the French Revolu- 
tion at Geneva. 

America Delivered, a Poem, (in 
French,) 2 vols. 

Sinclair's Statistics, (in French,) 

1 vol. 

The Works of Monsieur Chamousset, 
(in French,) 2 vols. 

Letters of American Farmer, (in 
French,) 3 vols. 

Germanicus, (in French,) i vol. 

Triumph of the New World, (in 
French,) 2 vols. 

United States of America, (in Ger- 
man,) I vol. 

Chastellux, Discourse on the Ad- 
vantage of the Discovery of 
America, i vol. 

A German Book, i vol. 

The French Mercury, (in French,) 
4 vols. 

Essay on Weights, Measures, &c., 

2 vols. 

History of England, 2 vols. 
Political Journal, (in German,) i vol. 
Letters in French and English, i vol. 
History of the Holy Scriptures, 

I vol. 
History of Gil Bias, 2 vols. 
Telemachus, 2 vols. 
Poems of M. Grecourt, 2 vols. 
Court Register, 6 vols., i2mo. 
6 Pamphlets, Political Journal, (in 

German.) 
De-cription of a Monument, i vol. 
Beacon Hill, i vol. 
Letters in the English and German 

Language.*, i vol. 
A Family Housekeeper, i vol. 
Pamphlets of diifereiit descriptions. 



77 



Maps, Charts, &c. 

Chart of Navigation from the Gulf 
of Honda to Philadelphia, by 
Hamilton Moore. 

Chart of Navigation from the Gulf of 
Honda to Bay of Fundj', do. 

Griffith's Map of Pennsylvania and 
Sketch of Delaware. 

Howell's large Map of Pennsylvania. 

Henry's Map of Virginia. 

Bradley's Map of the United States. I 

Holland's Map of New Hampshire. 

Ellicott's Map of the West End of 
Lake Ontario. 

Hutchin's Map of the Western Part 
of Virginia, Maryland, Penn- 
sylvania, and North Carolina. 

Adlum and William's Map of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Map of Kennebec River, &c. 

Andrew's Military Map of the Seat 
of War in the Netherlands. 

Howell's small Map of Pennsylvania. 

Great Canal betw'n Forth and Clyde. 

Plan of the Line between North 
Carolina and Virginia. 

M' Murray's Map of United States. 

Military Plans of the American Rev- 
olution. 

Evans's Map of Pennsylvania, New 
Jersey, N. York, and Delaware. 

Plan of the Mississippi from the River 
Iberville to the River Yazoo. 

Map of India. 

Chart of France. 

Map of the World. 

Map of the State of Connecticut. 

Spanish Maps. 

Table of Commerce and Population 
of France. 

Battle of the Nile, &c. 

Routes and Order of Battle of Gen- 
erals St. Clair and Harmer. 



Truxtun on the Rigging of a Frigate. 

View of the Encampment of West 
Point. 

Emblematic Prints. 

Plan of the Government House of 
New York. 

Chase and Action between the Con- 
stellation and Insurgent, (2 
prints.) 

General Wilkinson's Map of f'art of 
the Western Territory. 

Plan of Mount Vernon, by John 
Vaughan. 

Specimen of Penmanship. 

5 Plans of the Federal City and Dis- 
trict. 

I large draught. 

Plan of the City of New York Pan- 
opticon. 

Hoop's Map of the State of New 
York. 

Howell's Pocket Map of the State of 
Pennsylvania. 

A French Map of the Carolinas. 

Fry and Jefferson's Map of Virginia. 

Howell's small Map of Pennsylva- 
nia. 

A Map of New England. 

9 Maps of different Parts of Virginia 
and Carolina, and also a number 
of loose Maps. 

Carlton's Map (2 sets) of the Coasts 
of North America. 

Treatise on Cavalry, with large cuts. 

Walker's View in Scotland. 

A large Portfolio, with sundry En- 
gravings. 

Alexander's Victories, 26 Prints. 

Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, 4 
vols., 8vo. 

Smollet's History of England, x vol. 

Handmaid to the Arts, i vol. 

Bancroft on Permanent Colors, 1 vol. 



THE STEAMER 

Which has been recently built and furnished, 

Is the only Boat allowed to land Passengers 
at Mount Vernon Wharf. 




Including admission to Mansion and Grounds. 



STEAMEK leaves Seventh-Street Wharf DAILY (Sundays ex- 
cepted) at 10 A. M. and returns at 3.45 p. m. 



HARRISON H. DODGE, 
Sup't Ladies' Mount Vernon Association. 



L. L. BLAKE, 

Captain W. IV. Corcoran 



t. |lerii0ii gree5ilj0H0e5, 



PLANTS, BULBS, I :CUT FLOWERS 

Sold for the Benefit of the Association. 



Those desiring plants as souvenirs of tlieir visit to the home 
of Washington can purchase them at the greenhouse, and thus 
not only possess beautiful mementoes, but the satisfaction of 
knowing that they have contributed towards the restoration and 
maintenance of the historic place. 

Special attention is directed to Plants of Boxwood one hun- 
dred and forty years old ; Hydranjec Quercifolia, (Oakleaf 
Hydranjea,) brought by Lafayette in 1824 ; Willows from the 
grave of Napoleon Bonaparte, St. Helena ; and the Mary Wash- 
ington Eose. 

When desired, purchases may be safely forwarded by mail or 
express to any portion of the country. 

Apply to 

FEANKLIN A. WHELAN, 
Mount Vernon, 

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA. 



WxtbiB oi ^axxni Wtxnan. 

For Sale on the Boat, W. "W. Corcoran, and at the Mansion-House, 



LUKE C. DILLON, 

AUTHORIZED 

Photographer of the Ladies' Union Mount Vernon Association 

OFFICE AT PUI.I.MAN'S GAI.I.ERY, 

No. 935 Penu. Ave., Tl^asliiiig-ton City, D. C. 

1. The Tomb of Washington. 

2. Mansion, East Front. 

3. Mansion, West Front. 

4. The Porch and View to Eiver. 

5. The Family Kitchen. 

6. Fire-place in Family Kitchen. 

7. The Old Tomb of Washington. 

8. The Butler's House and Magnolia Tree 

9. The Gardener's House. 

10. The Old Brick Barn. 

11. The South Gate to Flower-garden. 

12. View in Flower-garden, showing Lemon Tree with ripe fruit 

13. The Conservatory, (cabinet size.) 

14. The Old Washington Oak Tree. 

15. The Boat-House and Roadway to the Tomb. 

16. View from Tomb to Boat-House. 

17. View from Old Brick Barn to North Arched Gate. 

18. View of Potomac River from East Porch. 

19. View from Cupola of Mansion to Porter's Lodge. 

20. View of Porter's Lodge at the west gate. 

-21. The Mount Vernon Boat, " W. W. Corcoran. 

INTERIOR VIEWS OF MOUNT VERNON. 

22. Washington's Bed and Room where he died. 

23. Fire-place and Secretary in Washington's bed-room. 

24. Mrs. Washington's bed-chamber. 

25. Room occupied by Nellie Custis. 

26. Room occupied by Gen. Lafayette when at Mt. Vernon. 

27. A room used as a guest chamber in Washington's time. 

28. State Dining-Room. 

29. Marble Mantel in State Dining-Room. 
50. East Parlor. 

31. West Parlor. 

32. Hall and Stairs. 

33. The Family Dining-Room. 

34. Mrs. Washington's Sitting-Room. 

55. Wash-Bowl and Pitcher used by Martha Washington. 













CIh . 


n- 












Cm 


CM ' 










en 


?Xj 


o 






^ 


03 


ch 




o 






t— > 


c-K 


o 




Libr 
pyri 


!?>' 




Hi 


:§2^ 




CfQ p 


i^ 




(r> 


03 


03 




S- ^ 


O 


►-■. 


H<i 


• ^ ' 


C+- 




y of Cc 
t 1889: 


S 
< 

rt> 
-1 


3 
o 

3 


OOOX - 
COrHKaq 


o 




3 
J-* crq 


3 
O 


3 


^^s. 


5* 






? 


S 






g- 




VO w 


j_^ 


on 

1—* 




o 


1 






^ 


00 

3 




P o 


^ 




J 


o" 












^ 








O ^ 


M 




Oo 










GO 




^o 








00 




La 








00 




^J 








• 


M 












by Elizabeth 
C., Gibson 


CD 
O 




CAj H-i 








^w 






y^^k 








o • 






o 








s 1 







LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




011 839 105 6 



